ralph.ewig

Charged Up: Electric Rockets - Chemical rockets are still the mainstay of Earth-to-Orbit transportation, but once in space there are many other options. Electric propulsion has been maturing rapidly in the last couple of years, and Txchnologist has a good article on the current state of the technology, its promise and challenges.

“Dawn and the other missions are the start of a sea-change because SEP (Solar Electric Propulsion) allows you to do missions that you could not do otherwise,” says Dr. Gallimore. “NASA recognizes that higher-power electric propulsion is needed to extend humanity’s presence beyond the moon.”