GOCE’s sophisticated electric ion propulsion system has been switched on and confirmed to be operating normally, marking another crucial milestone in the satellite’s post-launch commissioning phase.

CLEVELAND — A small robotic surveyor arrives to explore a near-Earth asteroid. Another robotic spacecraft is returning to Earth with a pristine comet surface sample. Meanwhile, a robotic explorer is ...

Click to open image viewer. This is a cesium ion engine developed by the Electro-Optical Systems, Inc. as an experimental high-energy thruster for spacecraft. Ion engines produce extremely low thrusts ...

Pale Blue plans to demonstrate its 1U water ion thruster twice in 2025 on D-Orbit’s Ion Satellite Carrier, an orbital transfer vehicle. The contract with D-Orbit includes two launch opportunities and ...

Click to open image viewer. This device was used by the American rocket pioneer Dr. Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945) during the period 1924-28 to determine the feasibility of ion propulsion for space ...

A rendezvous with the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche is scheduled for 2029. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Breaking space news, the ...

Electric propulsion can benefit the deployment of large payloads for orbit transfer. The mass and volume saved by using an electric propulsion system allows for the use of smaller launch vehicles or ...

A laboratory in Troitsk, Russia, may have just nudged humanity closer to interplanetary commuting. Scientists at Rosatom, the country's state nuclear corporation, have revealed a working prototype of ...