Electric rocket thrusters for new spacecraft types with high specific power level

The need for small satellites that may be used in space for a long time has grown. One of the driving forces for small satellites to come is the advent of light-weight and long-life solar arrays which are necessary for electric propulsion having long service life. Such a combination of new solar arrays and economical electric thrusters allows relatively cheap, fast and reliable performance of many space missions which can't be performed using other technologies. This paper describes the development at MAI electric thrusters of 3 types: ion thruster, closed electron drift thruster and a colloidal one. Performance of all these thrusters matches the best world performance for small electrostatic thrusters. These days some of these thrusters are being tested at other organizations.