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Spinoff story
Electrospray Thrusters Boost Efficiency, Precision
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
To equip the disturbance reduction system it provided for the European Space Agency_s LISA Pathfinder mission, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory hired Natick, Massachusetts-based Busek Co. Inc. to develop the most delicate thrusters ever flown. Using electrospray technology, the highly efficient and long-lived thrusters can control the number of atoms of ionic liquid they spray, and they max out at a thrust weight equivalent to a grain of sand.