Propulsion Calculations _{the millennial burn}

In-depth explanation of propulsion system calculations

These calculations are made based on a linear speed up and slow down

Desired Travel Time:	years
Distance:	light years
Average Speed Needed:	% speed of light
Max Speed Needed:	% speed of light
Max Speed Needed:	km/s

These are the specifications for Deep Space 1's ion propulsion system. The probe used a 2.3 kW Xenon-fueled Ion Propulsion System, but was constrained to run below 2.1 kW due to power limitations¹. It is assumed in the calculations that Deep Space 1's ion drive was run at 2.1 kW for the entire burn even though it was sometimes run at lower throttle levels. Neglecting this allows some room for error in design and other calculations.

Fuel:	kg
Ion Drive Power:	kW
Mass of Deep Space 1 (system & propellant):	kg
Top Speed:	km/hr
Top Speed:	km/s

These calculations extrapolate Deep Space 1's data linearly to estimate system characteristics. Gains in thrust and fuel efficiency are also included to deal with improvements in designs as well as technological gains since 1998.

Mass of System:	kg
Ion Thruster Power:	kW
Thrust Efficiency Gain:	%
Fuel Efficiency Gain:	%
Propellant Required:	kg
Non-Propellant Mass Allowed:	kg