Ion thruster - Wikipedia
An ion thruster, ion drive, or ion engine is a form of electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. An ion thruster creates a cloud of positive ions from a neutral gas by ionizing it to extract some electrons from its atoms. The ions are then accelerated using electricity to …
Ion thrusters are being designed for a wide variety of missions—from keeping communications satellites in the proper position (station-keeping) to pro-pelling spacecraft throughout our solar system.
A Remarkable New Thruster Could Achieve Escape Velocity—and ...
2024年5月3日 · Ion thrusters are the most common primary engine powering satellites through orbital maneuvers today. But to travel from low-Earth orbit (LEO) to farther orbits—or even the Moon—requires a...
The Most Powerful Ion Engine Ever Built Passes the Test
2023年11月4日 · NASA and aerospace company, Aerojet Rocketdyne, have successfully completed qualification testing of the Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS), which is a 12-kilowatt, solar electric...
Ion Propulsion - NASA Science
Dawn's futuristic, hyper-efficient ion propulsion system allows Dawn to go into orbit around two different solar system bodies, a first for any spacecraft. Meeting the ambitious mission objectives would be impossible without the ion engines.
A Brief History of Ion Propulsion - NASA Solar System Exploration
2018年8月21日 · Ion propulsion systems ionize (charge) atoms and then exploit their non-neutral charge to expel them from the spacecraft, creating thrust. Dawn’s gridded ion thrusters achieve this by accelerating xenon, ionized by an electron beam, through a …
Gridded ion thruster - Wikipedia
The gridded ion thruster is a common design for ion thrusters, a highly efficient low-thrust spacecraft propulsion method running on electrical power by using high-voltage grid electrodes to accelerate ions with electrostatic forces.