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NASA's NEXT Ion Thruster Runs Five and a Half Years Nonstop To Set New Record

Posted by timothy on from the slow-and-steady-and-breathe-and-good dept.

cylonlover writes "Last December, NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) passed 43,000 hours of operation. But the advanced ion propulsion engine wasn't finished. On Monday, NASA announced that it has now operated for 48,000 hours, or five and a half years, setting a record for the longest test duration of any type of space propulsion system that will be hard to beat."

1 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Perfect analogy for NASA by cdrudge · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    The problem is that the thruster only produces 236 mN of thrust. NASA's bureaucracy coupled with the infinitely massive boat anchor called the US government has created an object so huge that 236 mN over 5.5 years has only moved it an imperceptible distance.