Called an Electrodynamic tether provides
a simple and reliable alternative to the
conventional
rocket thrusters.Functionally, electrons flow from the space plasma into the conductive tether, are passed through a resistive load in a control unit and are emitted into
the space plasma by
an electron emitter as free electrons. In principle, compact high-
current tether power generators
are possible and, with basic hardware,
tens, hundreds, and thousands of kilowatts
appears to be attainable.
