Already in 2017, a new type of ion engine will be tested at the International Space Station. Like other devices of this kind, the invention has high efficiency, but it differs from its closest analogues by the fact that it is possible to use metals, their alloys and other parts of space debris as fuel for the engine.
A group of Australian scientists led by University of Sydney graduate Dr. Patrick Neumann is behind the creation of a new type of engine. The development itself was named Neumann Drive. The non-standard approach of scientists not only has a sufficiently high efficiency, but will also allow cleaning the orbit of our planet from waste, which has already accumulated there a lot.
According to the author of the project himself, "The Neumann Drive engine uses electrical energy, which can be obtained from solar panels or a nuclear source, as well as metallic fuel to create a pulsed arc discharge that works in much the same way as electric arc welding."
Several metals can act as fuel, which can be found not only in space debris, but also on other objects in outer space. For example, magnesium and aluminum, which are abundant in the designs of vehicles that have turned into space debris.
However, the metal that most effectively powers the Neumann Drive motor is molybdenum. And it is extremely small in space debris, but when using it, the engine can be accelerated to a very high speed.
VLADIMIR KUZNETSOV
