Table of Contents
What does an ion thruster do?
An ion thruster, ion drive, or ion engine is a form of electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. It creates thrust by accelerating ions using electricity. An ion thruster ionizes a neutral gas by extracting some electrons out of atoms, creating a cloud of positive ions.
What is the difference between an ion thruster and a plasma thruster?
A plasma propulsion engine is a type of electric propulsion that generates thrust from a quasi-neutral plasma. This is in contrast with ion thruster engines, which generate thrust through extracting an ion current from the plasma source, which is then accelerated to high velocities using grids/anodes.
What is ion propulsion?
Ion propulsion is a method of propulsion that uses electrical rather than chemical forces to generate thrust for a spacecraft. Although less powerful than chemical engines, ion propulsion engines are more efficient and can be used continuously for long periods, making them ideal for deep space missions.
What are the differences between electric propulsion and chemical rocket propulsion?
Chemical spacecraft propulsion systems create thrust by thermodynamically expanding heated propellant gas through a nozzle. Electric spacecraft propulsion systems create thrust by using electric, and possibly magnetic, processes to accelerate a propellant.
Do ion thrusters use plasma?
Plasma is the building block for all types of electric propulsion, where electric and/or magnetic fields are used to accelerate the electrically charged ions and electrons to provide thrust. In ion thrusters, plasma is made up of positive ions and an equal amount of electrons.
What is different about ion propulsion systems versus traditional turbine propulsion systems?
Ion engines take very small amounts of gas and accelerate it to very high speeds, unlike chemical engines which take large amounts of gas and spew it out at a slow speed. This means that an ion engine uses a lot less fuel. Ion engines are limited by energy, not by mass.
What are the chemical propulsion systems?
Chemical Propulsion Systems, on the other hand, uses chemical reactions to release energy and accelerate gases to generate thrust. These systems produce relatively large thrusts in relatively short periods of time.