They claim -----
I do not see them mention 'slapstick Libby'.

from
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/remarkable-thruster-could-achieve-escape-113000852.html

A Remarkable New Thruster Could Achieve Escape Velocity—and
Interplanetary Travel
Darren Orf
Fri, May 3, 2024 at 4:30 AM PDT·3 min read
137

a spaceship blazes its way through space with ion propulsion
NASA's Ion Thruster Could Spawn a Space RevolutionCorey Ford/Stocktrek
Images - Getty Images
Ion thrusters are the most common primary engine powering satellites
through orbital maneuvers today.

But to travel from low-Earth orbit (LEO) to farther orbits—or even the
Moon—requires a different kind of ion thruster capable of achieving
escape velocity and orbital capture maneuvers.

Using technology originally developed for NASA’s upcoming lunar space
station, the space agency has miniaturized its high-power solar electric
tech into an engine that could make more complex satellites and
planetary missions possible.

The history of space travel is filled with impressive sizzle reels of
fire-breathing chemical engines launching monumental rockets skyward
toward the Moon, Mars, and beyond. While these massive devices are
marvels of human engineering, the real workhorses of the space industry
are the immensely less-gargantuan ion thrusters.

These engines are as old as rocketry itself—Soviet and German rocket
leaders first dreamed up their future uses more than a century ago. And
today, these electric propulsion systems power the swarms of satellites
around Earth that make modern life possible. Unlike chemical rockets
that throw out gasses for propulsion, ion engines are powered by
individual atoms, which makes them much more fuel efficient and allows
satellites to operate for longer.

However, they’re not perfect. In the future, spacecraft will need to
perform high-velocity propulsive maneuvers—such as achieving escape
velocity and orbital capture—that current ion engines can’t deliver.
That’s why NASA developed the H71M sub-kilowatt Hall-effect thruster, a
next-generation ion engine that can supply a velocity change.

The propulsion system must operate using low power (sub-kilowatt) and
have high-propellant throughput (i.e., the capability to use a high
total mass of propellant over its lifetime) to enable the impulse
required to execute these maneuvers. While commercial ion thrusters are
good enough for most LEO satellites, these engines only use “10% or less
of a small spacecraft’s initial mass in propellant,” according to NASA.
The H71M thruster uses 30 percent, and could operate for 15,000 hours.

“Small spacecraft using the NASA-H71M electric propulsion technology
will be able to independently maneuver from low-Earth orbit (LEO) to the
Moon or even from a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) to Mars,” NASA
wrote on its website regarding the new ion thruster. “The ability to
conduct missions that originate from these near-Earth orbits can greatly
increase the cadence and lower the cost of lunar and Mars science missions.”

The creation of this thruster grew from NASA’s work on the Power and
Propulsion Element for Gateway, NASA’s planned lunar orbital space
station. The team essentially miniaturized the high-power solar electric
technologies that will make that lunar mission possible into a package
that could provide thrust for smaller space missions.

One of the first spacecraft companies that will use this next-gen
technology is SpaceLogistics, a space subsidiary of Northrop Grumman.
The company’s NGHT-1X Hall-effect thrusters are based on NASA’s
technology, and will allow its Mission Extension Pod (MEP)—which, as its
name suggests, is essentially a satellite repair vehicle—to reach
geosynchronous Earth orbit, where it’ll attach itself to a larger
satellite. Acting as a “propulsion jet pack,” the MEP will act as an
ion-powered symbiote that extends the larger satellite’s mission by at
least six years.

If all goes well, this small-yet-mighty thruster could enable planetary
missions once considered impossible to pull off.

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View comments (137)

ANDROLOMA
1 day ago

There was a young lady called Bright,

She could travel much faster than light.

She set off one day,

in a relative way,

and came back on the previous night.

Once was a varlet named Mark.

Flew faster than a crow can bark.

He passed Lady Bright,

in the black of the night.

Speed of light is slower than dark.

Reply
4 replies

Michael
1 day ago

They should use these for three large Mars Cyclers in Aldrin orbits
space out so one is always a couple of months or so away from the Earth.
Then rendezvous with these and ride them to Mars to enter orbit. Bases
on Phobos would be a good way station and eventual fuel depot.

On 5/4/24 09:17, a425couple wrote:
> They claim -----
> I do not see them mention 'slapstick Libby'.
>
> from
> https://www.yahoo.com/tech/remarkable-thruster-could-achieve-escape-113000852.html
>
> A Remarkable New Thruster Could Achieve Escape Velocity—and
> Interplanetary Travel
> Darren Orf
> Fri, May 3, 2024 at 4:30 AM PDT·3 min read
> 137
>
> a spaceship blazes its way through space with ion propulsion

Andrew Jackson Libby
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Andrew_Jackson_Libby
Andrew Jackson "Slipstick" Libby is a fictional character featured in
the "Future History" series of science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein.