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Electric Propulsion Comes of Age with Psyche Mission to an Asteroid

posted by martyb on Monday November 22 2021, @10:54AM   Printer-friendly
from the AXE:-Advancing-Xenon-Emitters dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

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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  • (Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Monday November 22 2021, @07:55PM (2 children)

    by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Monday November 22 2021, @07:55PM (#1198654)

    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 :)

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  • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Tuesday November 23 2021, @09:56AM

    by maxwell demon (1608) on Tuesday November 23 2021, @09:56AM (#1198844) Journal

    Also, do you have any of your works posted anywhere?

    He has a link right in his signature.

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  • (Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday November 24 2021, @08:11PM

    by mcgrew (701) <publish@mcgrewbooks.com> on Wednesday November 24 2021, @08:11PM (#1199311) Homepage Journal

    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!

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