A student-led mission aims to send a time capsule to Mars, using a new, more compact kind of propulsion system. The Time Capsule to Mars mission is designed to bring three tiny "cubesats ...

Having just returned from NASA JPL and witnessing a new design and test of an ion propulsion system rocket engine, I did a little research regarding some alternate ways to power the “beast.” The main ...

Iodine-based ion propulsion could power small satellites and help solve our space junk problem.

The Dawn mission to the asteroid belt passed a critical test last weekend, exercising its gentle, yet reliable, ion-propulsion system to accelerate its mission to two destinations during an eight ...

An ion thruster (or ion drive), one of several types of spacecraft propulsion, uses beams of ions - electrically charged atoms or molecules - for propulsion. The precise method for accelerating ...

The ion propulsion system first powered the spacecraft on its 186 million mile journey to the surface of the asteroid Itokawa.

Boeing recently announced it would deploy a satellite powered completely by ion propulsion, with no chemical propellant, while in orbit. Electric propulsion has long been seen as a bright hope for ...

As much as we love Star Trek, we have to admit there are some continuity problems. For example, in Spock’s Brain, the alien-of-the-week’s ion drive gave Scotty engineering envy. However… ...

The AEPS is a solar electric propulsion system that uses xenon as its propellant, much like existing ion engines.

The space propulsion company Accion Systems has announced that they will officially start taking orders for their micro-propulsion systems designed for ...

The student-led mission to send a time capsule from Earth to Mars will potentially test a new kind of propulsion system as well.

Ion propulsion systems can be used for geosynchronous satellite propulsion systems and deep space missions providing significant advantages over traditional chemical propulsion systems due to the ...