What is ion propulsion?
What is ion propulsion? ion propulsion is a technology that involves ionizing a gas to propel a craft. Instead of a spacecraft being propelled with standard chemicals, the gas xenon (which is like neon or helium, but heavier) is given an electrical charge, or ionized. Ion thrust engines are generally practical only in the vacuum of space as the engine’s minuscule thrust cannot overcome any significant air resistance without radical design changes, as may be found in the ‘atmosphere breathing electric propulsion’ concept.
Do ion thrusters work on planets?
Although they are efficient, ion engines are very low-thrust devices. The amount of push you get for the amount of propellant used is very good, but they do not push very strongly. For example, astronauts could never use them for taking off the surface of a planet. The drawback of the low thrust is low acceleration because the mass of the electric power unit directly correlates with the amount of power. This low thrust makes ion thrusters unsuited for launching spacecraft into orbit, but effective for in-space propulsion over longer periods of time.Drawbacks. Possibly the most significant challenge to the viability of plasma thrusters is the energy requirement. The VX-200 engine, for example, requires 200 kW electrical power to produce 5 N of thrust, or 40 kW/N.
Does NASA use ion thrusters?
Ion thrusters (based on a NASA design) are now being used to keep over 100 geosynchronous Earth orbit communication satellites in their desired locations, and three NSTAR ion thrusters that utilize Glenn-developed technology are enabling the Dawn spacecraft (launched in 2007) to travel deep into our solar system. The Starlink ion thruster is a marvel of engineering. The lower box is one the earliest spacecraft ion thrusters (from EOS circa 1962), and on top is a new arrival, a modern marvel from the SpaceX Starlink satellites used for on orbit maneuvering.
What fuel do ion thrusters use?
The thrusters work by using an electrical charge to accelerate ions from xenon fuel to a speed 7-10 times that of chemical engines. The electrical power level and xenon fuel feed can be adjusted to throttle each engine up or down in thrust. The NEXT engine is a type of solar electric propulsion in which thruster systems use the electricity generated by the spacecraft’s solar panel to accelerate the xenon propellant to speeds of up to 90,000 mph (145,000 km/h or 40 km/s).
Do ion engines pollute space?
Ion engines and Hall thrusters are the principal operational devices under the ion propulsion umbrella. As mentioned, these are plasma devices characterized by significant sputter erosion that leads to plume effluents entering the space environment. Plasma engines are well-suited for interplanetary missions due to their high specific impulse. Many space agencies developed plasma propulsion systems, including the European Space Agency, Iranian Space Agency and Australian National University, who co-developed a double layer thruster.