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Not Science Fiction: Electric Propulsion Comes of Age With Psyche Mission to an Asteroid:
Psyche's Hall thrusters will be the first to be used beyond lunar orbit, demonstrating that they could play a role in supporting future missions to deep space. The spacecraft is set to launch in August 2022 and its super-efficient mode of propulsion uses solar arrays to capture sunlight that is converted into electricity to power the spacecraft's thrusters. The thrusters work by turning xenon gas, a neutral gas used in car headlights and plasma TVs, into xenon ions. As the xenon ions are accelerated out of the thruster, they create the thrust that will propel the spacecraft.
Belters rejoice.
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Electric Propulsion Comes of Age with Psyche Mission to an Asteroid
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
You are a fluke of the universe; you have no right to be here.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 22 2021, @04:05PM (5 children)
The Deep Space 1 probe was the first to use use ion propulsion
Then again in 2005-ish with the Dawn space craft.
Is this different?
Or again, is this yet another one of those "new inventions/new discoveries" of 2021 that is only new if you intentionally ignore history?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 22 2021, @05:36PM
It's Millennial science! Since I've never heard of it, it must be new!!
I liked that too: "first to be used beyond lunar orbit" I wasn't aware that our thruster technologies were thought to be limited by the Earth's gravity well.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Monday November 22 2021, @06:43PM (3 children)
In my fiction, the cargo craft to Mars all use ion propulsion, powered by fusion reactors.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Monday November 22 2021, @07:55PM (2 children)
just curious, do you use the classic magnetic confinement or one of the less well known fusion concepts like muon catalyzed, magnetic mono poles, or maybe the really exotic LENR (Low Energy Nuclear Reactions)?
Also, do you have any of your works posted anywhere? I'm always looking for good stories to read and you've piqued my curiosity :)
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Tuesday November 23 2021, @09:56AM
He has a link right in his signature.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday November 24 2021, @08:11PM
It doesn't get in to the actual engineering of the thrusters, except they're huge. Mars, Ho! [mcgrewbooks.com] and Voyage to Earth [mcgrewbooks.com] have them. Mars, Ho! is a novel, Voyage is a sequel and part of a collection. Some other stories in that book use ion engines as well. Hope you like 'em!
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org