Direction for the Future - Successive Acceleration of Positive and Negative Ions Applied to Space Propulsion

TL;DR

This paper discusses the development of the PEGASES ion-ion thruster, a novel electric propulsion technology that accelerates both positive and negative ions to eliminate the need for neutralization, promising improvements for space missions.

Contribution

It introduces the concept and current development status of the PEGASES ion-ion thruster, a new approach in electric space propulsion that reduces system complexity.

Findings

Ion-ion thruster can generate thrust without neutralization.

Potential for longer mission lifetime and reduced weight.

Advances in ion acceleration techniques for space propulsion.

Abstract

Electrical space thrusters show important advantages for applications in outer space compared to chemical thrusters, as they allow a longer mission lifetime with lower weight and propellant consumption. Mature technologies on the market today accelerate positive ions to generate thrust. The ion beam is neutralized by electrons downstream, and this need for an additional neutralization system has some drawbacks related to stability, lifetime and total weight and power consumption. Many new concepts, to get rid of the neutralizer, have been proposed, and the PEGASES ion-ion thruster is one of them. This new thruster concept aims at accelerating both positive and negative ions to generate thrust, such that additional neutralization is redundant. This chapter gives an overview of the concept of electric propulsion and the state of the development of this new ion-ion thruster.