Ionic engine - new space horizons

The man came out into space thanks to rocket engines on liquid and solid fuels. But they also called into question the effectiveness of space flights. In order for a comparatively small spacecraft to at least "catch" the Earth's orbit, it is installed on top of an impressive carrier rocket. And the missile itself, in fact, is a flying tank, the lion's share of the weight of which is allocated for fuel. When all of it is spent up to the last drop, a scanty reserve remains on board the ship.

In order not to fall to Earth, the International Space Station periodically raises its orbit by impulses of jet engines. Fuel for them - about 7.5 tons - several times a year deliver automatic vehicles. But on the way to Mars such a refueling is not foreseen. Is not it time to say goodbye to the outdated circuits and pay attention to a more perfect ion engine?

In order for it to work, insane amounts of fuel will not be required. Only gas and electricity. Electricity in space is extracted by trapping solar radiation from solar panels. The farther away from the light, the less their power, so you will have to use nuclear reactors. Gas enters the primary combustion chamber, where it is bombarded by electrons and ionized. The resulting cold plasma is sent to the fire, and then to the magnetic nozzle, to accelerate. The ion engine throws out hot plasma at speeds that are inaccessible to conventional rocket engines. And the spacecraft gets the necessary acceleration.
The principle of operation is so simple that it is possible to assemble a demonstration ion drive with your own hands. If the electrode in the form of a turntable is previously balanced, set to the tip of the needle and apply a high voltage, a sharp glow will appear at the sharp ends of the electrode, created by electrons that are detached from them. Their expiration will create a weak reactive force, the electrode will begin to rotate.

Alas, ion engines have such a minuscule traction that they can not tear the spacecraft away from the surface of the Moon, let alone ground launch. This can be most clearly seen if we compare two ships going to Mars. A ship with liquid engines will start flying after several minutes of intense acceleration and spend a little less time on braking in the Red Planet. A ship with ionic engines will accelerate for two months on a slowly spinning spiral, with the same operation waiting for him in the vicinity of Mars ...
And yet the ion engine has already found its application: it is equipped with a number of unmanned spacecraft sent to long-term reconnaissance missions to the near and far planets of the Solar System, to the asteroid belt.

Ionic engine - the same turtle that overtakes the fast-paced Achilles. After consuming all the fuel in a few minutes, the liquid engine ceases forever and becomes a useless piece of iron. And plasma can work for years. It is possible that they will be equipped with the first spacecraft, which at a faster light speed will go to Alpha Centauri - the closest star to the Earth. It is assumed that the flight will take only 15-20 years.