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| space |
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william labbett
Member #3,946
October 2003
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hi guys, only me just wondering - i saw something on the news a will |
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Myrdos
Member #1,772
December 2001
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It was something about a probe* that used a new, ion-propulsion system rather than conventional thrusters. It consists of a container of Xenon gas. Solar panels generate electricity to ionize the gas, before expelling it into space. Now, the current generated from these panels is weak, and only a tiny amount of gas can be ionized at one time. In earth gravity, the force produced by the thruster would be barely enough to lift a single empty envelope. But, over the long haul (weeks and months), the ion-propulsion can produce 4-5 times more thrust a than a conventional unit of the same size, before running out of xenon gas. Incidentally, this is the same principle that 'Star Trek' ion-drives use. It seems like such a simple system; I wonder why it took them so long to implement it in real life. *That is, if we're talking about the same mission:P __________________________________________________ |
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Thomas Fjellstrom
Member #476
June 2000
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That Ion drive probe is cool -- |
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gnolam
Member #2,030
March 2002
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william labbett said: just wondering - i saw something on the news a Insufficient data to answer question: define European space mission. Launches from European territory? (that would include all launches from Esrange and Plesetsk Cosmodrome) -- |
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Billybob
Member #3,136
January 2003
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ion systems can go very fast, the reason being that all you need is time, like any purpulsion system in space. ion engines are just best suited to the task of extended periods of thurst. If you got enough light, and enough gas, you can make an ion engine travel rather darn fast, course you'd have to wait for it to speed up
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william labbett
Member #3,946
October 2003
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yeh, sorry i wasn't too specific. ion-propulsion. thx |
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kdevil
Member #1,075
March 2001
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I remember hearing something about that type of propulsion system a few years ago. Either they were just developing it then, or they tested it once and it failed, I can't remember any specifics. ----- |
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gnolam
Member #2,030
March 2002
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This isn't the first time an ion propulsion system has been used - both NASA and ESA have used it on probes (NASA's comet rendez-vous probe from a few years ago) and satellites (ESA's Artemis satellite was recovered from a too-low orbit thanks to its ion drive) before... -- |
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deps
Member #3,858
September 2003
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Slightly off topic. |
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gnolam
Member #2,030
March 2002
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Except that 'Taikonaut' is a Western invention that isn't used in China And even more off-topic, I think that Cosmonaut is a much better term than Astronaut, seeing as we haven't traveled to any stars yet -- |
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Fladimir da Gorf
Member #1,565
October 2001
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But what about the Europeans in general? The problem is that in what language the word "space" should be taken from? Esperanto? Latin? Or just call them "euronaults" OpenLayer has reached a random SVN version number ;) | Online manual | Installation video!| MSVC projects now possible with cmake | Now alvailable as a Dev-C++ Devpack! (Thanks to Kotori) |
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deps
Member #3,858
September 2003
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gnolam
Member #2,030
March 2002
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Euronaut? Someone who navigates across Europe? -- |
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deps
Member #3,858
September 2003
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Trezker
Member #1,739
December 2001
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I was on a Euronaut mission to France by car once. I guess the Simpsons are D'ohnauts. I think Cosmonaut is the best word for it. This is such a crap post.:-[ |
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