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NASA's Ion Engine Breaks Performance Record
An ion engine prototype developed at NASA's Glenn Research Center has now accumulated more than 12,000 hours of operation and processed over 245 kilograms of xenon, setting a record for most propellant throughput ever demonstrated by an ion engine.
The engine is the critical component of NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) system, which uses xenon gas and solar electric power to drive future robotic science spacecraft to distant asteroids, comets, planets and their moons.
The propellant throughput achieved exceeds the previous record of 235 kilograms demonstrated by the 30,000 hour ground life test of the spare Deep Space 1 engine.
Additionally, the ion engine has demonstrated over 10 million Newton-seconds total impulse, the highest total impulse ever demonstrated by an ion engine in the history of space propulsion.
"Total impulse is the product of the engine's thrust and firing duration and is a direct measure of its capability to perform missions," according the Mike Patterson, Glenn's NEXT principal investigator. "This test validates NEXT technology for a wide range of NASA solar system exploration missions, as well as the potential for Earth-space commercial ventures."
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An ion engine prototype developed at NASA's Glenn Research Center has now accumulated more than 12,000 hours of operation and processed over 245 kilograms of xenon, setting a record for most propellant throughput ever demonstrated by an ion engine.
The engine is the critical component of NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) system, which uses xenon gas and solar electric power to drive future robotic science spacecraft to distant asteroids, comets, planets and their moons.
The propellant throughput achieved exceeds the previous record of 235 kilograms demonstrated by the 30,000 hour ground life test of the spare Deep Space 1 engine.
Additionally, the ion engine has demonstrated over 10 million Newton-seconds total impulse, the highest total impulse ever demonstrated by an ion engine in the history of space propulsion.
"Total impulse is the product of the engine's thrust and firing duration and is a direct measure of its capability to perform missions," according the Mike Patterson, Glenn's NEXT principal investigator. "This test validates NEXT technology for a wide range of NASA solar system exploration missions, as well as the potential for Earth-space commercial ventures."
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