New Engine Raises Possibility of Cheap Travel To the Moon 100
shreshtha writes with this intriguing bit from The Daily Mail: "A tiny satellite thruster which can journey to the Moon on just a tenth of a litre of fuel could usher in a new low-cost space age, its creators hope. The mini-motor weights just a few hundred grams and runs on an ionic chemical compound, using electricity to expel ions and generate thrust. The tiny motor isn't built to blast satellites into orbit — instead, it's to help spacecraft manouevre once they're in space, which previously required bulky, expensive engines."
From Where? (Score:4, Informative)
Seriously, I can travel to the Moon with no fuel if I start in the right position with the right momentum. TFA doesn't tell us much unless the secrets are hidden in the video I'm blocking on the bottom of the page.
Misleading (Score:5, Informative)
The new thruster has nothing to do with getting to the moon or even getting into space. It's a way for a small satellite to maneuver once it is in orbit. It could possibly be used for getting into lunar orbit from low earth orbit, but its intended purpose right now is to help clean up debris.
Re:Sweet! (Score:4, Informative)
No joke, especially considering this is from the Daily Mail. I mean come on, why would they even think anyone would get real news from such a place.
Read this site first. (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/enginelist.php#id--Ion [projectrho.com]
It's a great site which details (with lots of math) the various problems with space travel.
Re:From Where? (Score:5, Informative)
The propulsion system emits ions at high speed (40 km/s) and is thus very efficient at converting propellant mass to satellite momentum. Thrust is low, but given time, ver lge orbit chanegs are possible. for example, in order to reach lunar orbit from low-Earth orbit, a 3-kg nanosatellite with our motor would travel for about 2 years and consume about 500 grams of fuel" - Herb Shea
Re:How is this new? (Score:5, Informative)
I'm biased, 'cause I work on this!
http://lmts.epfl.ch/microthust [lmts.epfl.ch]
- Herb Shea
Ion engines are already pretty efficient... (Score:3, Informative)
Parent link is bad. Try this - (Score:5, Informative)
Parent link is bad. Try this:
http://lmts.epfl.ch/microthrust [lmts.epfl.ch]