Spacecraft electric propulsion - An overview

A short review of the status of electric propulsion (EP) is presented to se rve as an introduction to the more specialized technical papers also appear ing in this Special Issue (Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 14, No, 5, Sept.-Oct. 1998). The principles of operation and the several types of thr usters that are either operational or in advanced development are discussed first, followed by some considerations on the necessary power sources. A f ew prototypical missions are then described to highlight the operational pe culiarities of EP, including spacecraft interactions. We conclude with a hi storical summary of the accumulated flight experience using this technology .