Ion Engine Keeps Esa Gravity Mapper In Orbit

摘要

The electric ion propulsion engine for the European Space Agency's (ESA) gravity field-measuring satellite GOCE has been turned on and is operating normally, an April 6 ESA press release said.rnGOCE, which stands for Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer, is designed to measure minute changes in Earth's gravitational field.rnGOCE's ion propulsion engine, built by the United Kingdom's QinetiQ, is essential to maintaining its near-polar orbit at just 263 kilometers where Earth's residual atmosphere would otherwise cause the satellite to slow and lose orbit prematurely.