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With a conventional chemical propulsion system, 2% of a rocket's total mass might make it to the destination, with the other 98% having been consumed as fuel. With an electric propulsion system, 70% of what's aboard in low Earth orbit can make it to a deep-space destination. [24] However, there is a trade-off.
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 demonstrated 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]
Experimental military satellite, Electric Propulsion Space Experiment: Orion 3: 5 May 1999: Ion engine: XIPS: Xenon: Orion Network Systems: Hughes-EDD: Satellite bus based on Hughes HS-601HP; injected into wrong orbit Astra 1H: 18 Jun 1999: Ion engine: XIPS: Xenon: SES: Hughes-EDD: Satellite bus based on Hughes HS-601HP Yamal 101: 6 Sep 1999 ...
This was the first use of electric propulsion as the interplanetary propulsion system on a science mission. [25] Based on the NASA design criteria, Hughes Research Labs developed the Xenon Ion Propulsion System (XIPS) for performing station keeping on geosynchronous satellites. [99] Hughes (EDD) manufactured the NSTAR thruster used on the ...
The principles of flight dynamics are used to model a vehicle's powered flight during launch from the Earth; a spacecraft's orbital flight; maneuvers to change orbit; translunar and interplanetary flight; launch from and landing on a celestial body, with or without an atmosphere; entry through the atmosphere of the Earth or other celestial body ...
Orbital launch systems are rockets and other systems capable of placing payloads into or beyond Earth orbit. All launch vehicle propulsion systems employed to date have been chemical rockets falling into one of three main categories: Solid-propellant rockets or solid-fuel rockets have a motor that uses solid propellants, typically a mix of ...
The first artificial satellite launched into the Earth's orbit was the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1, on October 4, 1957. As of December 31, 2022, there are 6,718 operational satellites in the Earth's orbit, of which 4,529 belong to the United States (3,996 commercial), 590 belong to China, 174 belong to Russia, and 1,425 belong to other nations. [1]
A thruster is a spacecraft propulsion device used for orbital station-keeping, attitude control, or long-duration, low-thrust acceleration, often as part of a reaction control system.