The vast majority of ion thrusters rely on gaseous propellants, however. A schematic of an gridded electrostatic ion thruster. Wear on the grids over time limits the life of these thrusters.

Electrospray (ES) 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 ...

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.

Get Instant Summarized Text (Gist) Simulations of electric ion thrusters have been validated through experiments, addressing challenges in predicting thruster lifespan due to chamber wall effects ...

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