just been reading about the space Ferrari coming back down to earth, European Space Agency's first uncontrolled re-entry in 25 years

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24907261

obviously a re-entry is better than it joining the countless pieces of space junk orbiting the earth, but the reason why caught my attention

Quote:

Its plunge through the atmosphere on Sunday became inevitable once the electric engine it had employed to stay in orbit ran out of fuel.

How does a electric engine work in Space , there is no wheels or surface for it to run on, what sort of propulsion does it use and how?

i thought things kep in space by been just outside the gravitational pull, or manoeuvred by jets on compressed gas with a slow motion SHHHEEEECCCHHH Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Apparently the Goce satellite was powered by a "xenon ion" engine.

Maybe the self levelling stopped working.

Edit: Also called a solar-electric ion propulsion engine or Hall effect thruster, it’s powered by an inert and odorless xenon gas. The engine works by combining high energy, negatively charged electrons together with neutral propellant atoms (the xenon gas) in a contained environment. Within all this excitement, mini-collisions produce a second electron — which creates the thrust.

Quote taken from io9.com 2013 RR Evoque Pure Tech
2012 TD4 GS Auto Orkney Grey - gone

Seems logical

 Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

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