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Ion engine developed by the Electro-Optical Systems, Inc. as an experimental high-energy thruster for spacecraft, measuring approximately 7˝ long and 5˝ in diameter, mounted on an acrylic stand set into a wooden base, with plaque reading: "Space Craft Ion Rocket, developed for United States Air Fore by Electro-Optical Systems, A subsidiary of Xerox." In fine condition.
The ion engine was first demonstrated by German-born NASA scientist Ernst Stuhlinger, and developed in practical form by Harold R. Kaufman at NASA Lewis (now Glenn) Research Center from 1957 to the early 1960s. Cesium ion engines developed by Electro-Optical Systems were successfully tested in space in flights of Air Force Blue Scout missiles in 1964; one such example is held by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Today, the standard gridded ion thruster is a highly efficient low-thrust spacecraft propulsion design which uses high-voltage grid electrodes to accelerate ions with electrostatic forces.
