Questions about engines used in space that accelerate ions to create thrust.
Questions tagged [ion-thruster]
154 questions
21
votes
3 answers
Why do ion thrusters frequently use xenon as the reaction mass?
From skimming the Wikipedia article on ion thrusters, I notice that xenon is frequently (though not exclusively) used as the reaction mass in systems that have actually been deployed - Deep Space 1, Hayabusa, SMART-1, and Dawn, for example.
What are…
senshin
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10
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Maximum grid voltage of ion thruster
As I read the grid voltage of an ion thruster is of the order of 1-4kV and to achieve that voltage they use electronic voltage boosters. Knowing that the thrust is proportional to the grid voltage(for accelerating the particles), why don't they just…
Ricardo Casimiro
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9
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2 answers
Does Krypton or Xenon produce more thrust in a Hall-effect thruster?
I am trying to figure out if Xenon or Krypton produces more thrust for a given weight flow rate of fuel when the engine operates at the same discharge voltages. The information I find is mixed or I am not interpreting it right.
Some concrete info:…
Playstation_waifu
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5
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Colloidal or electrospray thrusters - any advantages over ion thrusters?
I haven't seen much about colloidal or electrospray thrusters besides that Wikipedia article and a few questions here. The idea is similar to ion thrusters in that propellant mass is broken into small bits, ionized, and accelerated…
uhoh
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Ion thrusters don't need to neutralize ions?
EDITED: According to the answer of @asdfex, since the ions leave with a velocity = escape velocity so when they approach an infinite distance the net thrust is 0, this means that:
The total net thrust is 0 only when the ions approach infinite…
Ricardo Casimiro
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3
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2 answers
Ion engine: purpose of magnet rings
I have a question about the gridded electrostatic ion engine.
In the ionisation chamber there are several magnet rings that create a magnetic field inside the chamber.
But what is the purpose of that magnetic field?
adriankroeger
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2
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Is it possible to use a linear particle accelerator in deep space as propulsion?
A linear particle accelerator permits to accelerate ions to high speed and there is no need to use big, heavy magnets to divert the beam. The space vacuum remove the need of pipes, so it could be delivered compact and then open to reach the right…
Antonio Cipolla
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Neutralization of ions in the ion thruster
I have a question about neutralizing the ion thruster, why simply does not put a positive potential on the satellite to prevent the emitted ions from returning to the satellite? is the ion current so large that it would take several kV to repel that…
Ricardo Casimiro
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What's so special about Xenon?
Xenon is the most common, most popular propellant for ion engines.
But AFAIK, any ionizable gas could do - the ion engine accelerates charged particles, it doesn't really care what these particles are.
Also, Xenon is way down below the periodic…
SF.
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