Plasma jet engines promise a future of fuel-free, electrically driven flight, but the technology faces a stubborn obstacle ...

Spacecraft rocket engines come in a variety of forms and use a variety of fuels, but most rely on chemical reactions to blast propellants out of a nozzle, with the reaction force driving the ...

Staying in orbit can be challenging, at least for lower orbits that are more affected by Earth's atmosphere. But, such orbits also come with advantages, such as better vantage points for new ...

UK space propulsion company Pulsar Fusion has conducted the first test of a prototype exhaust system for a nuclear fusion rocket engine that could dramatically cut transit times for missions to Mars ...

Space debris is a growing threat to satellites and missions, with over 14,000 pieces already cluttering low-Earth orbit. To address this, Kazunori Takahashi, a researcher at Tohoku University in Japan ...

Over the last several months, we’ve been enjoying a front-row seat as [Jay Bowles] of Plasma Channel has been developing and perfecting his design for a high voltage multi-stage ionic thruster. With ...

Hayabusa spacecraft had been on the way to Earth with the ion engines B and/or D powered on since April 2007, though it lost the functions of chemical thrusters and two of three reaction wheels at the ...