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