#spacecraftpropulsion — Public Fediverse posts

A simplified #SpecificImpulse (SI) explanation after an unexpected discussion:

• Chemical rocket: lower SI, high thrust; good for escaping gravity quickly
• Nuclear-electric/ion engine: high SI, low thrust; excellent propellant economy, but often poor for fighting gravity or arriving quickly

Higher SI means better propellant economy - not necessarily better mission #efficiency. A bimodal nuclear rocket combines high-thrust, medium-SI and low-thrust, very-high-SI modes

#SpacecraftPropulsion

https://www.europesays.com/ie/683173/ World’s first zinc thruster fires in space on maiden attempt #Éire #ElectricPropulsion #HallEffectThruster #IE #Ireland #SatellitePropulsion #Science #SolidZinc #Space #SpaceTechnology #SpacecraftPropulsion #ZincPropulsion

#ElectricPropulsion uses up to 90% less 📉 propellant than traditional, high-thrust chemical rockets. During tests, the #NASA JPL team achieved power levels of up to 120 kilowatts. That’s over 25 times 📈 the power of the thrusters on Psyche. The team aims to reach power levels between 500 kilowatts and 1 megawatt per thruster. A human 🧑‍🚀 mission to #Mars might need 2 to 4 megawatts of power, requiring multiple MPD thrusters https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-fires-up-powerful-lithium-fed-thruster-for-trips-to-mars/

#RocketScience #SpacecraftPropulsion

#NASA will launch the #SpaceReactor1 Freedom, the first nuclear ☢️ powered #interplanetary spacecraft, to #Mars 🔴 before the end of 📆 2028. Nuclear #ElectricPropulsion enables high power missions beyond #Jupiter 🪐 where #solar arrays are not effective https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-unveils-initiatives-to-achieve-americas-national-space-policy/

#SpacecraftPropulsion #SR1

#GeneralGalactic’s water 💧 propulsion system could provide 5-10 times the Delta-V of traditional systems. For #chemical propulsion, it will use electrolysis to split water, then burn the hydrogen with oxygen as the oxidizer. For #electrical propulsion, it will split water and then apply sufficient electrical energy 🔋 to convert the oxygen into plasma. It will then use a #magnetic field to guide the plasma out of a thruster https://interestingengineering.com/space/satellite-using-water-powered-propulsion-system

#SpacecraftPropulsion #ElectricPropulsion

United Kingdom Leads the Way in Solar Sail Technology for Fuel-Free Space Travel and Sustainable Exploration https://www.byteseu.com/1303157/ #DestinationNews #FuelFreeSpaceTravel #GreatBritain #LatestTravelNewsOfUk #SolarSailTechnology #SpacecraftPropulsion #UkLatestNews #UnitedKingdom

“While we are still some years away from making #fusion energy a viable technology for #PowerGeneration on Earth, we don’t need to wait to start using this power source for #SpacecraftPropulsion” https://edition.cnn.com/science/nuclear-powered-rocket-pulsar-space-spc/index.html

#FusionPropulsion #helium3

To get enough fuel ⛽ into #orbit for a #Mars 🔴 mission would require at least 10 launches of the #SLS rocket, or about $20 billion 💰. Just for the fuel. To use traditional propulsion, one needs to push the boundaries of #reuse ♻️ and heavy lift rockets to extreme limits—which is precisely what #SpaceX is trying to do with its fully reusable launch system https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/report-nasas-only-realistic-path-for-humans-on-mars-is-nuclear-propulsion

#SpacecraftPropulsion #reusability #LaunchCost

#Space 🌌 is a far more logical, sensible place to do #fusion, because that’s where it wants to happen anyway. In 📆 2027, we’re going to send a small part of #Sunbird in #orbit. The first #functional Sunbird will be ready four to five years later. Sunbird could deliver #cargo to #Mars 🔴 in under six months https://edition.cnn.com/science/nuclear-powered-rocket-pulsar-space-spc/index.html

#SpacecraftPropulsion #FusionPropulsion #PulsarFusion

@ScottManleyHimself : Why #nuclear ☢️ rockets can beat #chemical rockets and #IonEngines https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlKAMB71wT4

#ElectricPropulsion #SpacecraftPropulsion

In an #electrospray thruster, charged particles are pulled directly out of a liquid propellant using a strong electric field and accelerated using charged #electrodes https://spacepropulsion.mit.edu/electric-propulsion

#SpacecraftPropulsion #ElectricPropulsion

The #3Dprinted prototype was able to generate thrust more #efficiently than larger, more expensive #chemical rockets and outperformed existing droplet #electrospray engines. It can be produced rapidly and for a fraction of the #cost 💵 of traditional thrusters and even be fully made in #orbit 🌌 https://news.mit.edu/2025/mit-engineers-develop-fully-3d-printed-electrospray-engine-0212

#SpacecraftPropulsion

#MIT #OpenLearning, topic #SpacePropulsion, excerpt :

• Fundamentals and Definitions
• Basic #Electromagnetic Theory and Plasma Physics
• #Electrostatic Thrusters
• Characterization of Space Propulsion Devices
• #Plasma Accelerators
...
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/16-522-space-propulsion-spring-2015/pages/lecture-notes/

#SpacecraftPropulsion #OpenKnowledge

Ultrananocrystalline diamond 💎 may be a promising approach to prolong service life. #Nanoscaled metamaterial could help to reduce the heat losses. #SelfHealing of Boron nitride nanotubes with very high tensile strength similar to that of carbon nanotubes, and excellent electrical characteristics https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-02269-7

#SpacecraftPropulsion #MaterialsScience

#FusionPropulsion offers 1000 times the power of conventional #IonThrusters currently used in orbit. The vacuum environment and extremely cold ❄️ temperatures of space 🌌 provide an ideal setting for fusion propulsion * https://orbitaltoday.com/2023/07/14/interplanetary-travel-to-become-faster-through-nuclear-fusion/

* https://orbitaltoday.com/2023/06/15/us-and-uk-join-forces-to-apply-nuclear-fusion-propulsion-to-future-mars-travel/

#SpacecraftPropulsion
#RocketScience

The #FireStar Drive begins a fusion process by adding #boron into the thruster exhaust. The base thruster generates high-speed protons through the ionization of water vapor. These protons collide with the nucleus of a boron atom, which starts the fusion reaction. The technique produced ionizing radiation and increased the base propulsion unit’s thrust by 50% 📈 https://interestingengineering.com/space/nuclear-fusion-powered-electric-propulsion-drive

#RocketStar #SpacecraftPropulsion #RocketScience

A #DirectFusionDrive* could propel a #spacecraft to #Mars 🔴 in two months. For comparison, it took #NASA’s Perseverance rover about seven months to reach the Red Planet. https://payloadspace.com/helicity-raises-5m-for-in-space-fusion-propulsion/

Exhaust speeds are calculated to be roughly one-thousand times that of a #HallEffectThruster https://www.space.com/nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-spacetravel

📆 August 7, 2023 fusion ignition 💥 breakthrough https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-scientists-repeat-fusion-power-breakthrough-ft-2023-08-06/

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Fusion_Drive

#NuclearFusion #SpacecraftPropulsion #HelicitySpace #PulsarFusion

#ScienceDirect 📆 2006 : The magneto-plasma sail produces the #propulsive force due to the interaction between the artificial #magnetic 🧲 #field around the #spacecraft inflated by the plasma and the #SolarWind erupted from the #Sun ☀️ with a speed of 300–800 km/s https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576505002365

#Magnetic sail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_sail

#MagneticPropulsion #SpacecraftPropulsion

#Space #LaserPropulsion concept, traveling into #DeepSpace at 480,000 km/h : Pellet-beam propulsion #spacecraft could reach #Voyager 1 🛰️ in 5 years https://interestingengineering.com/science/pellet-beam-propulsion-spacecraft-voyager

Voyager positions : https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status

Picture : Voyager 1 trajectory in the sky from #earth from 1977-2030 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Voyager_1_skypath_1977-2030.png

#SpacecraftPropulsion

The keyword hashtag list reached 5️⃣5️⃣ 55 entries :

#AsteroidMining
#AsteroidThreat
#CelestialBodyLanding
#DSOC (Deep Space Optical Communications)
#HallEffectThruster
#HumanSpaceflight
#HumanSpaceflightBasics
#HumanSpaceflightHealth
#HumanSpaceflightSecurity
#ISRU (in situ resource utilization)
#LaunchCost
#Lunar3dPrinting
#MoonMining
#PrivateSpaceflight
#ReusableLaunchVehicle
#RocketEngine
#RocketScience
#SatelliteImprovement
#SatelliteInternetAccess
#SBSP (Space-based Solar Power)
#SmallSat
#SpaceAgency
#SpaceCommunication
#SpaceCompany
#SpaceCraft
#SpaceColonization
#SpacecraftComparison
#SpacecraftPropulsion
#SpaceDebris
#SpaceEnergy
#SpaceEvent
#SpaceFood
#SpaceForce
#SpaceHabitat
#SpaceHotel
#SpaceIndustry
#SpaceInfrastructure
#SpaceLogistics
#SpaceMaintenance
#SpaceMining
#SpaceNavigation
#SpacePhotography
#SpacePlants
#SpacePolitics
#SpacePort
#SpaceRegulation
#SpaceRobot
#SpaceScience
#SpaceSciFi
#SpaceStation
#SpaceSuit
#SpaceTelescope
#SpaceTourism
#SpaceWelding
#TimeToOrbit

The internal #combustion #engine also wasn't invented in a day*, so it shouldn't be #rocket 🚀 #science to develop nuclear #fusion** further ? Would be helpful for #spacecraft #electric #propulsion***... https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/13/what-is-nuclear-fusion-what-have-scientists-achieved-ignition

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_combustion_engine#History
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion
*** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecraft_electric_propulsion

#SpacecraftPropulsion

The #Pilot #Plasma #Engine 📆 January 1961

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pilot_Plasma_Engine_-_GPN-2000-001995.jpg

#SpacecraftPropulsion

#ArsTechnica 📆 May 2020 #Microwave plasma thruster - #Plasma #thrusters have generally been thought of as a means of #propulsion in #space, but now one has been designed to operate under #atmospheric conditions https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/05/microwave-thruster-makes-for-clean-burning-jet

Also see #spacecraft electric🔌 propulsion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrically_powered_spacecraft_propulsion

#SpacecraftPropulsion