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I don't think ion thrusters would work, for the balloon to maintain orbit you'd still be somewhere with enough atmospheric drag to be a problem. Ion thrusters only produce millinewtons worth of thrust, so they're very much relying on a no drag environment and the ability to run for continuous use for weeks to years.


> don't think ion thrusters would work

They wouldn't. That's why they're aiming to use plasma thrusters.


Ion thrusters to change orbits from the insertion orbit to the operating orbit, i.e. once you're already in space with negligible atmosphere.




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