Xenon gas powers several key spacecraft propulsion systems that take advantage of its high molecular weight and inertness:
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Ion thrusters – Xenon is ionized and accelerated electrically to high velocity, enabling efficient stationkeeping.
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Hall effect thrusters – Xenon ions generate thrust for orbital maneuvers with minimal propellant usage.
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Resistojet thrusters – Heated xenon gas provides low-thrust maneuvering for attitude control and orbital corrections.
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Micropropulsion – MEMS thrusters use tiny xenon flows for fine orientation control of small satellites.
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Satellite leak detection – Trace xenon accurately locates microleaks in propellant and other sealed spacecraft systems.
Xenon gas makes an ideal propellant – it is inert, dense, easily stored as a liquid, and compatible with advanced electric space propulsion technologies.
Post time: Sep-20-2023