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Deep Space 1 had a thrust of 92 milliNewtons (0.092N) at 2.1 kW, but it also had an Isp one order of magnitude above most chemical rocket fuels (3100 versus 200-400 for chemical fuels), so the answer above is about the same.

That compares with the solid rocket boosters on a Delta II launch vehicle (or 1/2 of the main engine on a Delta II).

2 GigaWatts of Xenon Ion engine = 1 Delta II (no solids)

Of course with economies of scale, and more power to be had for an ion engine, I'll bet they could be made much more efficient, so 1 GW might exceed one fully strapped Delta II, or even more.

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2007-06-07 10:14:20 · answer #1 · answered by tlbs101 7 · 0 0

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