https://www.space.com/40056-air-breathing-electric-thruster-test.html

Staying in low earth orbit will be cheap.

 

https://www.space.com/40056-air-breathing-electric-thruster-test.html

Staying in low earth orbit will be cheap.

You won't get much thrust from it but that's pretty cool.

Typical plasma thrust values from similar systems @1000W
Argon:
#1 10.8 millinewtons at a specific impulse of 158 seconds and RF thrust efficiency of 0.5%.
#2 330 seconds at a total thrust of 7.1 millinewtons and an RF thrust efficiency of 0.7%

From: Study of RF Plasma Technology Applied to Air-Breathing Electric Propulsion
by Adam Shabshelowitz

 

Have you any idea of the collector? i.e....saran wrap?

Or how an electron is "added'? Is it electron gun fire?

 

http://www.sitael.com/space/advanced-propulsion/electric-propulsion/

https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/...rst_firing_of_air-breathing_electric_thruster

Figure 4: Molecules of air at the top of the atmosphere are captured by a novel type of intake, then collected and compressed to the point of becoming thermalized ionized plasma, at which point they can be given an electric charge to accelerate them and eject them to provide thrust. Air-breathing electric propulsion could make a new class of long-lived, low-orbiting missions feasible (image credit: ESA, A. Di Giacomo)


http://erps.spacegrant.org/uploads/images/2015Presentations/IEPC-2015-271_ISTS-2015-b-271.pdf

 

I wonder if a satellite that's in such a low orbit that it could use an air breathing jet engine would also encounter enough air drag to counteract the benefit.

 

When they get a few concept models up.....a race will be on.

Crowded skies. Wonder if the engines are rf noisy?