| 摘要 |
A propellant and a propellant combination. In a preferred embodiment, the propellant includes a portion of an element and two isotopes of the element. The portion of the element is enriched with one of the isotopes and is adapted to being ionized. Preferably, the element is xenon. In another preferred embodiment, the present invention also provides a propellant combination that includes portions of two elements that are adapted to being combined. The portion of the first element includes two isotopes and is enriched in the first of the isotopes. Preferably the first element is fluorine, chlorine, boron, or bromine. Methods of using isotopically enriched propellants are provided in other preferred embodiments as well as mobile platforms (e.g. spacecraft) that are adapted to use isotopically enriched propellants.
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