ion engine

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Related to ion engine: plasma engine

ion engine

A rocket engine that develops thrust by expelling ions rather than gaseous combustion products. Also called ion rocket.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ion engine

(Astronautics) a type of rocket engine in which thrust is obtained by the electrostatic acceleration of charged positive ions. Compare plasma engine

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Noun

ion engine - a type of reaction-propulsion engine to propel rockets in space; a stream of positive ions is accelerated to a high velocity by an electric field

reaction engine, reaction-propulsion engine - a jet or rocket engine based on a form of aerodynamic propulsion in which the vehicle emits a high-speed stream

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Its journey was powered in part by an ion engine, itself the stuff of science fiction just a few years ago.

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NASA and others have been working on the prototype ion engine for years, envisioning a way to carry large amounts of supplies and equipment through space.

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Once free of the Earth's gravity, the rocket can use the ion engine to achieve very high speed even though the thrust is measured in ounces of force.

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As any "Star Wars" fan would tell you, TIE stands for Twin Ion Engine. NASA uses ion propulsion to power spacecraft into deep space.

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Solar sails fall into the same category as ion engine technology in that they are very low thrust, but highly efficient.

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Our spaceships are equipped with ion engine and atomic weapons.

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He said it only has a small, putt-putt ion engine on it that's good for fine maneuvers, but it's not good for getting it out of harm's way, so this one was definitely going to come down at some point or other.

One ton satellite falling from space to Earth raises concern

Unlike most spacecraft, which use thrusters to adjust their orbits, it has a highly efficient propulsion system called an ion engine. Unlike thrusters, the engine can fire continuously to offset atmospheric drag.

Satellite will fall to Earth, but no one's sure where

It stays aloft thanks to an ion engine that began with a stock of 41 kilos (90.2 pounds) of fuel and is now down to about two kilos (4.4 pounds), Rune Floberghagen said from an ESA symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Space's 'Ferrari' set to fall to Earth

Because of this, the team already has their sights set on the next ion thruster design, an annular ion engine, which should provide an answer to this problem.

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It was worn in the first Star Wars film by the aviators who flew the Twin Ion Engine fighters on behalf of the Galactic Empire.

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There were times I almost felt defeated and wondered about waving the white flag,Ao Hitoshi Kuninaka, designer and engineer for the ion engine, told a JAXA interviewer just before the landing back on Earth.