Man went into space thanks to rocket engines using liquid and solid fuels. But they also questioned the effectiveness of space flights. In order for a relatively small spaceship to at least “catch” on the Earth’s orbit, it is installed on top of an impressive launch vehicle. And the rocket itself, in fact, is a flying tank, the lion's share of the weight of which is reserved for fuel. When all of it is used up to the last drop, a tiny margin remains on board the ship.
In order not to fall to the Earth, the
International Space Station periodically raises its orbit with pulses of
jet engines. Fuel for them - about 7.5 tons - is delivered several times a year by automatic ships. But on the way to Mars, such refueling is not expected. Is it time to say goodbye to outdated circuits and pay attention to a more advanced ion engine?
In order for it to work, crazy amounts of fuel are not required. Only gas and electricity. Electricity in space is produced by capturing the light of the sun by solar panels. The farther from the star, the less their power, so you will have to use
nuclear reactors as well. Gas enters the primary combustion chamber, where it is bombarded by electrons and ionized. The resulting cold plasma is sent to be heated up, and then to a magnetic nozzle, to be accelerated. The ion engine throws out a hot plasma at speeds inaccessible to conventional rocket engines. And
the spacecraft gets the necessary acceleration.
The principle of operation is so simple that you can assemble a demonstration ion engine with your own hands. If the electrode in the form of a turntable is pre-balanced, set on the tip of the needle and apply a high voltage, a blue glow will appear at the sharp ends of the electrode, created by the electrons breaking off from them. Their expiration will create a weak reactive force, the electrode will begin to rotate.
Alas, ionic engines have such a meager thrust that they can not tear the spacecraft from the surface of the moon, not to mention the ground launch. This can be most clearly seen if we compare two ships going to Mars. A ship with liquid engines will start the flight after several minutes of intense acceleration and spend a little less time braking on the Red Planet. The ship with ion engines will accelerate for two months in a slowly unwinding spiral, and the same operation awaits him in the vicinity of Mars ...
Nevertheless, the ion engine has already found its application: it is equipped with a number of unmanned spacecraft sent to long-term reconnaissance missions to the near and far planets of the solar system, to the asteroid belt.
The ion engine is the very turtle that overtakes the fast-footed Achilles. Having consumed all the fuel in a matter of minutes, the liquid engine is silent forever and becomes a worthless piece of iron. A plasma can work for years. It is possible that they will be equipped with the first spacecraft, which at sublight speed will go to Alpha Centauri - the star closest to Earth. It is assumed that the flight will take only 15-20 years.