A NASA advanced ion propulsion engine has successfully operated for more than 48,000 hours, or 5 and a half years, making it the longest test duration of any type of space propulsion system ...

Rocket propulsion technology has progressed leaps and bounds since the first weaponized rockets of the Chinese and Mongolian empires. They were nothing more than rocket-powered arrows and spears but ...

A form of electric propulsion known as Hall thrusters — a type of ion thruster — may actually pack more bang for the buck than expected. Hall thrusters have conventionally been used to adjust the ...

Earth's low orbit is filled with satellites — some new, some decades old. This has become an issue as orbit fills with space debris from broken or failed satellites, making removing them a challenge.

Predicting the lifetime of an electric ion thruster is notoriously difficult. You have to account for the chamber wall effects, which are not present in space environments. Researchers within several ...

BepiColombo Mercury arrival entered its critical phase September 3 as ESA's Mercury Transfer Module separated from the two science orbiters, ending eight years of ion propulsion after a 2024 power ...