Edgar Y. Choueiri of Princeton University recently synopsized the state of the art in electric propulsion. Ion thrusters, once used only for stationkeeping, are now considered the best available means of propulsion for long distance voyagers. Though rockets are still required for any craft to leave Earth, once in space, plasma jet engines use a fraction of the fuel required by traditional thrusters. The bulk of the cost of space missions, which can approach $10,000/pound, is the cost of launching fuel.
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机译：普林斯顿大学的Edgar Y. Choueiri最近概述了电动推进技术的最新发展。离子推进器曾经只用于固定站，现在被认为是长途航海者最佳的推进方式。尽管任何运载工具离开地球仍需要火箭，但一旦进入太空，等离子射流发动机将消耗传统推进器所需燃料的一小部分。太空飞行任务的大部分费用，即发射燃料的费用，约为每磅10,000美元。
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