Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Spacecraft electric propulsion
Spacecraft electric propulsion (or just electric propulsion) is a type of spacecraft propulsion technique that uses electrostatic or electromagnetic fields to accelerate mass to high speed and thus generating thrust to modify the velocity of a spacecraft in orbit. The propulsion system is controlled by power electronics.
Electric thrusters typically use much less propellant than chemical rockets because they have a higher exhaust speed (operate at a higher specific impulse) than chemical rockets. Due to limited electric power the thrust is much lower compared to chemical rockets, but electric propulsion can provide thrust for a longer time. Nuclear-electric or plasma engines, operating for long periods at low thrust and powered by fission reactors, have the potential to reach speeds much greater than chemically powered vehicles or nuclear-thermal rockets. But because of their low-thrust propulsion, electric propulsion is not suitable for launches from the Earth's surface and they would be limited to off-planet, deep-space operation. Such vehicles probably have the potential to power solar system exploration with reasonable trip times within the current century: in the future the most advanced electric thrusters may be able to impart a delta-v of 100 km/s (62 mi/s), which is enough to take a spacecraft to the outer planets of the Solar System (with nuclear power), but is insufficient for interstellar travel. An electric rocket with an external power source (transmissible through laser on the photovoltaic panels) has a theoretical possibility for interstellar flight.
Electric propulsion was first demonstrated in the 1960s and is now a mature and widely used technology on spacecraft. American and Russian satellites have used electric propulsion for decades. As of 2019[update], over 500 spacecraft operated throughout the Solar System use electric propulsion for station keeping, orbit raising, or primary propulsion.
On a journey to Mars, an electrically powered ship might be able to carry 70% of its initial mass to the destination, while a chemical rocket could carry only a few percent.
The idea of electric propulsion for spacecraft was introduced in 1911 by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. Earlier, Robert Goddard had noted such a possibility in his personal notebook.
On 15 May 1929, the Soviet research laboratory Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL) commenced development of electric rocket engines. Headed by Valentin Glushko, in the early 1930s he created the world's first example of an electrothermal rocket engine. This early work by GDL has been steadily carried on and electric rocket engines were used in the 1960s on board the Voskhod 1 spacecraft and Zond-2 Mars probe.
The first test of electric propulsion was an experimental ion engine carried on board the Soviet Zond 1 spacecraft in April 1964, however they operated erratically possibly due to problems with the probe. The Zond 2 spacecraft also carried six Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPT) that served as actuators of the attitude control system. The PPT propulsion system was tested for 70 minutes on the 14 December 1964 when the spacecraft was 4.2 million kilometers from Earth.
The first successful demonstration of an ion engine was NASA SERT-1 (Space Electric Rocket Test) spacecraft. It launched on 20 July 1964 and operated for 31 minutes. A follow-up mission launched on 3 February 1970, SERT-2. It carried two ion thrusters, one operated for more than five months and the other for almost three months.
Hub AI
Spacecraft electric propulsion AI simulator
(@Spacecraft electric propulsion_simulator)
Spacecraft electric propulsion
Spacecraft electric propulsion (or just electric propulsion) is a type of spacecraft propulsion technique that uses electrostatic or electromagnetic fields to accelerate mass to high speed and thus generating thrust to modify the velocity of a spacecraft in orbit. The propulsion system is controlled by power electronics.
Electric thrusters typically use much less propellant than chemical rockets because they have a higher exhaust speed (operate at a higher specific impulse) than chemical rockets. Due to limited electric power the thrust is much lower compared to chemical rockets, but electric propulsion can provide thrust for a longer time. Nuclear-electric or plasma engines, operating for long periods at low thrust and powered by fission reactors, have the potential to reach speeds much greater than chemically powered vehicles or nuclear-thermal rockets. But because of their low-thrust propulsion, electric propulsion is not suitable for launches from the Earth's surface and they would be limited to off-planet, deep-space operation. Such vehicles probably have the potential to power solar system exploration with reasonable trip times within the current century: in the future the most advanced electric thrusters may be able to impart a delta-v of 100 km/s (62 mi/s), which is enough to take a spacecraft to the outer planets of the Solar System (with nuclear power), but is insufficient for interstellar travel. An electric rocket with an external power source (transmissible through laser on the photovoltaic panels) has a theoretical possibility for interstellar flight.
Electric propulsion was first demonstrated in the 1960s and is now a mature and widely used technology on spacecraft. American and Russian satellites have used electric propulsion for decades. As of 2019[update], over 500 spacecraft operated throughout the Solar System use electric propulsion for station keeping, orbit raising, or primary propulsion.
On a journey to Mars, an electrically powered ship might be able to carry 70% of its initial mass to the destination, while a chemical rocket could carry only a few percent.
The idea of electric propulsion for spacecraft was introduced in 1911 by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. Earlier, Robert Goddard had noted such a possibility in his personal notebook.
On 15 May 1929, the Soviet research laboratory Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL) commenced development of electric rocket engines. Headed by Valentin Glushko, in the early 1930s he created the world's first example of an electrothermal rocket engine. This early work by GDL has been steadily carried on and electric rocket engines were used in the 1960s on board the Voskhod 1 spacecraft and Zond-2 Mars probe.
The first test of electric propulsion was an experimental ion engine carried on board the Soviet Zond 1 spacecraft in April 1964, however they operated erratically possibly due to problems with the probe. The Zond 2 spacecraft also carried six Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPT) that served as actuators of the attitude control system. The PPT propulsion system was tested for 70 minutes on the 14 December 1964 when the spacecraft was 4.2 million kilometers from Earth.
The first successful demonstration of an ion engine was NASA SERT-1 (Space Electric Rocket Test) spacecraft. It launched on 20 July 1964 and operated for 31 minutes. A follow-up mission launched on 3 February 1970, SERT-2. It carried two ion thrusters, one operated for more than five months and the other for almost three months.