A colloid thruster, also called an electrospray thruster, is a low-thrust electric propulsion rocket engine. It forms charged liquid droplets by an electrospray process and then accelerates them with a static electric field, normally using a low-volatility ionic liquid as the working fluid. Like other ion thrusters it offers high efficiency, thrust density and specific impulse, but its total thrust is only of the order of micronewtons, which suits it to very fine attitude control or to the slow, efficient acceleration of small spacecraft over long periods. Eight electrospray thrusters built by Busek flew on the LISA Pathfinder mission, logging about 1,400 hours in orbit, and the LunIR nanosatellite launched in 2022 was to demonstrate the technology again.
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1. Colloid thruster (Wikipedia)
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A colloid thruster (or electrospray thruster) is a type of low thrust electric propulsion rocket engine that uses electrostatic acceleration of charged liquid droplets for propulsion.
Part Of: LISA Pathfinder, Flight use
Eight electrospray thrusters were first used in space on the NASA ST-7 ESA LISA Pathfinder mission, to demonstrate disturbance reduction.
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