Getting that fuel into orbit is costly, too! Ion thrusters, in their various forms, offer an alternative solution – miniscule thrust, but high fuel efficiency. This tiny push won’t get you off ...

Inspired by NASA aerospace engineering, this project features a plasma thruster, designed to maximize efficiency and increase ...

Ion thrusters are the most common primary engine powering satellites through orbital maneuvers today. But to travel from ...

A UK startup has unveiled a new fusion-powered space rocket concept called Sunbird for interplanetary travel to Mars — and ...

P redicting the lifetime of an electric ion thruster is notoriously difficult. You have to account for the chamber wall effects, which are not present in space environments. Researchers within ...

On the face of things, not much, but after seeing [Zachary Tong]’s latest video on liquid metal ion thrusters, we see that they seem to have a lot more in common than we’d initially thought.

Unlike most interplanetary probes, Dawn is not propelled by a chemical rocket engine, but by a solar-electric ion propulsion system, particularly suitable for long-distance flights. This innovative ...

thrusters generate low thrust via the electrostatic extraction of charged species from an electrified liquid. These systems are characterized by the propellant used and emission mode of the ion beam.

Hollow cathodes are used as part of both Hall effect and gridded ion thrusters, which are some of the most common forms of electric propulsion in use today. The operation of hollow cathodes, despite ...

A Magdrive Rogue thruster is scheduled to launch on D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier, sent aloft in June. “We want to make sure that flight goes off without a hitch,” Magdrive CEO Mark Stokes ...