Sentences with phrase «ion thrusters»
"Ion thrusters" are devices that use charged particles called ions to generate propulsion, or forward movement, in spacecrafts. They work by expelling ions at high speeds, creating thrust to propel the spacecraft in the opposite direction. Full definition
The world's first electric ion thruster is now ready to be used for longer human missions, thanks to a team at the European Space Agency.
techtimes.com
When NASA started its New Millennium program in the 1990s to develop innovative spaceflight technologies, research on ion thrusters began again, this time in earnest.
«Focus areas include solar electric propulsion with advanced ion thrusters, habitation systems, nuclear fission for Mars surface power, EDL [Entry, Descent and Landing] systems, laser communications for high data rate transmission, deep - space atomic clocks for precise navigation, and many others,» the space agency said, in the report.
Some scientists also call for NeMO to showcase new solar - electric ion thrusters and advanced solar arrays.
The concept, called Neptune, leverages the technological heritage of gridded - ion thrusters.
The most established electric propulsion concepts, for example gridded - ion thrusters, accelerate and emit a larger number of positively charged particles than those with negative charge.
Mission leaders had wanted the spacecraft to use its ion thrusters to visit yet another asteroid, but were denied in July following a review of ongoing planetary missions.
An ion thruster (or ion drive), one of several types of spacecraft propulsion, uses beams of ions - electrically charged atoms or molecules - for propulsion.
Ion thrusters can deliver one order of magnitude greater propellant efficiency than traditional liquid fuel rocket engines, but are constrained to very low accelerations by the power / weight ratios of available power systems.
Ion thrusters are therefore able to achieve high specific impulse, reducing the amount of reaction mass required, but increasing the amount of power required compared to chemical rockets.
Two types of electric rockets are currently in use: the ion thruster, which generates thrust using a beam of positive xenon ions, and the Hall thruster, which uses xenon ions and electrons for propulsion.