A photo from open sources
Recently, we wrote that NASA’s space flights turned out to be unexpectedly for the world community under threat. It turned out that plutonium-238 reserves nearing the end of the Americans – incredible valuable and rare substance necessary for the operation of radioisotope thermoelectric generators. All over the united states today about 34 kilograms of this radioactive nuclide are left, which not even enough for a mission like Cassini.
However, representatives of the American national space agency upset the townsfolk with this sad news, as they were immediately informed by another, this time very encouraging. By According to NASA Leaders, University of Michigan Scientists have completed the creation of a new X3 ion engine that can allow a person to travel to Mars in the next 20 years and further to space. It sounds, of course, too fantastic, but experts in aeronautics seriously suggest that the future of space flights for ion engines, not for those that require chemical or radioactive fuel.
Advantages and disadvantages of the ion engine
“X3” is an innovative engine that uses an ion stream (plasma) to create traction, dispersed in electric field to ultrahigh speeds. In theory, a rocket, equipped with such an engine will be able to fly at a speed of 40 kilometers per second versus 5 kilometers with a conventional rocket. how it’s easy to calculate, spacecraft will become travel the same distance 8 times faster. Despite the fact that the ion accelerator also needs fuel, it will be required much less compared to a modern engine.
A photo from open sources
Thus, it will be possible to take aboard spacecraft more significant payload volumes. All this is sure NASA will give our civilization a real opportunity to go to foreseeable future on the Red Planet. As a working fluid for “X3” can perform neon, argon, krypton, xenon and others ionized inert gases, as well as possibly mercury (by the way, it is believed that aliens also use mercury in their interstellar spaceships). Source of energy for ionizing this fuel will be photoelectric converters, that is, everyone famous solar panels.
Americans report their latest engine delivers power over 100 kilowatts, generating a thrust of the order of 5.4 Newton. what regarding traction, then, compared to chemical rocket engines, it’s not so much, but NASA engineers intend solve this problem by forcing accelerators to generate several threads instead of one. Another drawback of the “X3” at the moment are its huge dimensions. While such an engine can move exclusively with a crane.
Voronezh ion engine
Recall that in 2015 the development of a similar electric rocket jet engine completed jointly by scientists Voronezh Chemical Engineering and Moscow Design Bureau Aviation Institute. Russian scientists worked to create its ion accelerator since 2013. Domestic invention while somewhat inferior in some respects to the American, however, Voronezh and Moscow craftsmen continue to improve and successfully test your brainchild. The goal of our compatriots the same as NASA: make space flights much more fast, cheap, simple and reliable. Note by the way about Russian development then no one outside our country even wrote, although today the foreign press is trumpeting with might and main Americans. At the same time, the creators of the ion engine themselves are not averse take advantage of the achievements of Russians who always come up with something unexpectedly original and unique …
NASA Mars Rocket
