NASA specialists tested the new X-3 ion engine developed by researchers from the University of Michigan. The device broke several records, including reaching the maximum power, thrust and operating current at the moment. It is reported on the Space.com website.
X-3 refers to Hall effect motors, which occurs when a magnetic field is applied to moving charged particles, such as xenon gas ions. The latter deviate from their trajectory, due to which another current arises, perpendicular to the main direction. This creates additional thrust and allows you to achieve a high flow rate of the working fluid, that is, ionized gas. This is the X-3's advantage over other ion engines.
The new engine is three-channel, that is, it has three plasma outflow channels. This technology allowed the X-3 to be more compact than conventional single-channel ion thrusters, although it weighs around 220 kilograms. It is powered by the XR-100 electric propulsion system developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne.
During the tests, the device was placed in a special vacuum chamber. According to project manager Alec Gallimore, it was possible to achieve a power of more than 100 kilowatts (for other ion engines on the Hall effect, this figure is 4.5 kilowatts), jet thrust was a record 5.4 newtons.
Photo: NASA
The main advantage of ion engines is a high specific impulse of about 40 kilometers per second, while for fuel rockets this characteristic is 5 kilometers per second. As a result, much less fuel is used to achieve high speeds than chemical engines. However, the thrust is usually small (about 100 millinewtons), so ionic spacecraft take a long time to accelerate, in addition, they are not yet able to overcome the gravitational attraction of the Earth.
Next year, specialists will continue testing the X-3. The ion engine is planned to operate at full power for 100 hours. For this, a special magnetic shielding system will be developed, which will protect the walls of the engine from heated plasma.