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by frederikvs 804 days ago
From what I can see on wikipedia [0] the first FEEP to be used in space was in 2018. Proba-3's implementation phase started in 2014 [1]. The choice of thruster technology was probably made well before that. They wouldn't use a technology that hasn't flown yet, unless it was crucial for the mission.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-emission_electric_propul... [1] https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Techn...

1 comments

That explains a lot actually