An ion thruster, ion drive, or ion engine is a form of electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. An ion thruster creates a cloud of positive ions from a neutral gas by ionizing it to extract some electrons …

The primary parts of an ion propulsion system are the ion thruster, power processing unit (PPU), propellant management system (PMS), and digital control and interface unit (DCIU).

May 3, 2024 · Unlike chemical rockets that throw out gasses for propulsion, ion engines are powered by individual atoms, which makes them much more fuel efficient and allows satellites to operate for longer.

Nov 4, 2023 · While AEPS is a solar electric engine, the other type of electric propulsion engine is nuclear electric propulsion (NEP), which uses a nuclear reactor to generate thrust, as opposed to …

Jan 4, 2024 · What is an Ion Engine? An ion engine is a type of electrostatic propulsion system that generates thrust by electrostatically accelerating plasma (a state of ionized gas). They are mainly …

Operating in the near vacuum of space, ion engines shoot out a propellant gas much faster than the jet of a chemical rocket. They deliver about ten times as much thrust per kilo of propellant used. The …

Ion engines are defined as propulsion systems that utilize ion beams, which consist of charged particles accelerated by high-voltage power supplies, to generate thrust by expelling ions at high speeds.

Jun 11, 2025 · Ion engines, also known as ion thrusters, are a type of spacecraft propulsion that uses electrical energy to accelerate charged particles, typically ions or electrons, to generate thrust.

In 1911, it was expressed by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, and soon all the pioneers of rocketry were developing the design of this type of engine. However, this task was not so simple: the first ion …

Explore the inner workings of an ion engine with this detailed diagram. Learn how charged particles are accelerated and expelled to generate thrust in space propulsion systems.