New Electric Propulsion Engine For Spacecraft Test-Fired in Orbit For First Time (msn)

[eppur_se_muova]

David Nield
49 mins ago

For the satellites spinning around Earth, using electricity to ionize and push particles of xenon gets them to go where they need to go. While xenon atoms ionize easily and are heavy enough to build thrust, the gas is rare and expensive, not to mention difficult to store.

Thanks to new research, we could soon have an alternative. Enter iodine.

Full in-orbit operation of a satellite powered by iodine gas has now been carried out by space tech company ThrustMe, and the technology promises to lead to satellite propulsion systems that are more efficient and affordable than ever before.

"Iodine is significantly more abundant and cheaper than xenon, and has the added advantage that it can be stored unpressurized as a solid," says Dmytro Rafalskyi, the CTO and co-founder of ThrustMe.

While earlier ground-based tests of iodine propulsion engines had been promising, getting it working in space is the clearest sign yet that this can be the future of small-scale spacecraft engines – and that our exploration of space can practically continue.
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more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/new-electric-propulsion-engine-for-spacecraft-test-fired-in-orbit-for-first-time/ar-AAQQbfi

[hunter]

1. When it comes time to abandon the International Space Station...

... I'd rather they boost it into higher orbit and keep it around so it can become a museum exhibit someday, not let it burn up in the atmosphere.

Ion engines would be one way to accomplish this. There's certainly enough solar power available once the station is vacated.

One of my dad's friends was an engineer working on ion engines in the 'sixties. I remember visiting the lab and seeing a test in a huge vacuum chamber.

I was still planning to be an engineer then.

[Wounded Bear]

2. Good stuff! Thanks for the link! nt