but it wasn't until 1998 that NASA first used the technology for use in satellites. Orbion Space Technology first started work on developing their own Hall-effect ion thrusters in 2016 with the ...

Ion thrusters, in their various forms ... Hundreds of such thrusters were used for stationkeeping in Soviet satellites in the 20th century. Credit: Finlay McWalter, public domain These designs ...

Magdrive is working on three versions of its space thrusters, and because they run on solid metal, they might one day even be powered by space junk collected directly in orbit, turning it from threat ...

What do scanning electron microscopes and satellites have in common? On the face of things, not much, but after seeing [Zachary Tong]’s latest video on liquid metal ion thrusters, we see that ...

This is what we see on land as the “train.” When the timing is right, each satellite uses its ion thruster to ascend into higher altitude and operational orbit. Jonathan McDowell, an ...

A Magdrive Rogue thruster is scheduled to launch on D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier, sent aloft in June. “We want to make sure that flight goes off without a hitch,” Magdrive CEO Mark Stokes ...

So it’s no surprise that one of the most recent deals is to Magdrive, a UK-based startup that says its electric propulsion system for satellites will deliver a higher thrust in a smaller form ...

SpaceX is actively communicating with the deployed satellites to utilize their ion thrusters in an attempt to raise their orbits. It remains uncertain how this incident will impact SpaceX's ...