BRIDGE · Bridging Research and Industry for the Development of Ground-breaking air-breathing Electric propulsion

Air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) offers a game-changing alternative to conventional spacecraft propulsion by using atmospheric particles as propellant, enabling sustained operations in very low Earth orbit (VLEO). This region of space provides advantages like higher spatial resolution and reduced latency, but atmospheric drag drastically shortens satellite lifetimes. ABEP can overcome this challenge, extending mission duration without the need of onboard propellant. BRIDGE aims to leverage the testing, analysis, and insights developed in the BREATHE ERC project to advance a promising early-stage air-breathing electric propulsion technology, based upon a combination of microwave power and novel magnetic field topologies to achieve high ionization efficiency at very-low pressures. The key objectives of BRIDGE are: (i) optimizing the trade-off between atmospheric propellant collection and ionization, and (ii) demonstrating the concept functionality on-ground and extrapolating performance to flight conditions, and (iii) developing a roadmap for in-orbit demonstration and commercialization of the technology, paving the way for cost-effective and sustainable VLEO space assets with broad scientific and commercial applications.