Europe's Smart-1 Runs Out of Fuel
Controllers have shut down the xenon-ion engine on Europe's Smart-1 lunar orbiter, after almost 5,000 hr. of operation, because its supply of fuel is exhausted. The technology testbed reached lunar orbit Nov. 16, 2004, using the solar-electric propulsion system to raise its elliptical Earth orbit...
Subscription Required
This content requires a subscription to one of the Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) bundles.
Schedule a demo today to find out how you can access this content and similar content related to your area of the global aviation industry.
Already an AWIN subscriber? Login
Did you know? Aviation Week has won top honors multiple times in the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards, the business-to-business media equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes.
Related Content
