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Spacecraft electric propulsion - Wikipedia

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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.[1] 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.[1] Due to limited electric power the thrust is much weaker compared to chemical rockets, but electric propulsion can provide thrust for a longer time.[2] Electric propulsion was first demonstated in the 1960s and is now a mature and widely used technology on spacecraft. American and Russian satellites have used electric propulsion for decades.[3] As of 2019, over 500 spacecraft operated throughout the Solar System use electric propulsion for station keeping, orbit raising, or primary propul

Spacecraft electric propulsion - Wikipedia Jump to content From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Type of spacecraft propulsion using electrical energy to accelerate propellant Not to be confused with Field propulsion or Reactionless drive . The Lorentz force acting on fast-moving charged particles in a bubble chamber . The Lorentz force plays a key role in several electric propulsion technologies, including Hall-effect thrusters , magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters , and pulsed plasma thrusters . A 6 kW xenon Hall thruster in operation at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Spacecraft electr

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