About the talk

Electric Propulsion plays a pivotal role in maintaining UK competitiveness in the commercial space sector. The mass savings benefits over conventional chemical propulsion alternatives are significant, and a strong UK portfolio of high performance proven EP technologies is needed to keep pace with progress across the telecom, space transportation, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and space science domains over the coming decade. This presentation focusses on three promising technologies under investigation at Imperial: the Quad Confinement Thruster (QCT), the Halo Plasma Accelerator and the Electrochemical Plasma Thruster. The talk will highlight new insights gained through recent experimental measurements, and also discuss upcoming in-orbit demonstrations planned for 2018.