October 2020
Superconductors - key to unlocking high power space missions
... limitations of current EP systems which have poor scalability, a limited operational range, and which rely on propellants such as xenon which are extremely rare and expensive. On the other hand, AF-MPD thrusters can operate with alternative...
April 2021
Satellite servicing comes of age
... they have run out of station-keeping propellant MEV-1 uses highly efficient Electric Propulsion (EP) engines, utilising xenon propellant to produce far more delta-v (velocity change) than standard chemical propellants. In fact, MEV-1’s EP system has...
19 April 2019
Mission to Mars by 2033 not viable says independent report
... the space station itself; “overall, the Gateway presents medium technology risk because certain technologies (e.g., xenon refuelling and autonomous environmental monitoring) have not been previously demonstrated at the scale required by the Gateway...
09 October 2019
The first satellite servicing spacecraft launches successfully
... MEV 1 spacecraft will take over propulsion and attitude control for the ailing satellite and its xenon-fed, fuel-efficient ion thrusters will nudge the 901 satellite towards a new lower inclination operating...
22 November 2021
NASA's asteroid impact mission due to launch Wednesday
... (110 pounds ) of hydrazine propellant for spacecraft manoeuvres and attitude control and around 60 kilograms (130 pounds) of xenon for its NEXT-C ion engine, DART has been prepped for flight since it arrived at VSFB in early...
04 June 2020
Mega constellations and their impact on astronomy
... with another satellite or a piece of space junk. At the moment two gases are predominantly used: Krypton and Xenon and both are extracted from liquid air by fractional distillation. However each element only makes up a very...
