The International Electric Propulsion Conference (IEPC) in its current form is a biennial academic conference in the field of electric space propulsion and hosted by the Electric Rocket Propulsion Society (ERPS). It was originally organized by the American Rocket Society (ARS) and later by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) as a US-American national conference and was expanded starting in 1976 to its current international character with the joining of international space engineering societies. Currently, few hundred engineers and scientists join the conference and present and discuss the latest developments and research results regarding electric propulsion.
# | Start | End | Host location | Venue | Original name and comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 Nov 1960 | 4 Nov 1960 | Monterey, CA | ARS Electrostatic Propulsion Conference | ||
2 | 14 Mar 1962 | 16 Mar 1962 | Berkeley, CA | ARS Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
3 | 11 Mar 1963 | 13 Mar 1963 | Colorado Springs, CO | Broadmoor Hotel | AIAA Electric Propulsion Conference | |
4 | 31 Aug 1964 | 2 Sep 1964 | Philadelphia, PA | AIAA Fourth Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
5 | 7 Mar 1966 | 9 Mar 1966 | San Diego, CA | AIAA Fifth Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
6 | 11 Sep 1967 | 13 Sep 1967 | Colorado Springs, CO | AIAA Electric Propulsion and Plasmadynamics Conference | ||
7 | 3 Mar 1969 | 5 Mar 1969 | Williamsburg, VA | AIAA 7th Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
8 | 31 Aug 1970 | 2 Sep 1970 | Stanford, CA | AIAA 8th Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
9 | 17 Apr 1972 | 19 Apr 1972 | Bethesda, MD | AIAA 9th Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
10 | 31 Oct 1973 | 2 Nov 1973 | Lake Tahoe, NV | AIAA 10th Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
11 | 19 Mar 1975 | 21 Mar 1975 | New Orleans, LA | AIAA 11th Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
12 | 14 Nov 1976 | 17 Nov 1976 | Key Biscayne, FL | AIAA International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
13 | 25 Apr 1978 | 27 Apr 1978 | San Diego, CA | AIAA/DGLR 13th International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
14 | 30 Oct 1979 | 1 Nov 1979 | Princeton, NJ | Princeton/AIAA/DGLR 14th International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
15 | 21 Apr 1981 | 23 Apr 1981 | Las Vegas, NV | AIAA/JSASS/DGLR 15th International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
16 | 17 Nov 1982 | 19 Nov 1982 | New Orleans, LA | AIAA/JSASS/DGLR 16th International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
17 | 28 May 1984 | 31 May 1984 | Tokyo | JSASS/AIAA/DGLR 17th International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
18 | 30 Sep 1985 | 2 Oct 1985 | Alexandria, VA | AIAA/DGLR/JSASS 18th International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
19 | 11 May 1987 | 13 May 1987 | Colorado Springs, CO | 19th AIAA/DGLR/JSASS International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
20 | 3 Oct 1988 | 6 Oct 1988 | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | 20th DGLR/AIAA/JSASS International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
21 | 18 Sep 1990 | 20 Sep 1990 | Orlando, FL | 21st AIAA/DGLR/JSASS International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
22 | 14 Oct 1991 | 17 Oct 1991 | Viareggio | 22nd AIDAA/AIAA/DGLR/JSASS International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
23 | 13 Sep 1993 | 16 Sep 1993 | Seattle, WA | 23rd AIAA/AIDAA/DGLR/JSASS International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
24 | 19 Sep 1995 | 23 Sep 1995 | Moscow | 24th International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
25 | 24 Aug 1997 | 28 Aug 1997 | Cleveland, OH | 25th International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
26 | 17 Oct 1999 | 21 Oct 1999 | Kitakyushu | 26th International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
27 | 15 Oct 2001 | 19 Oct 2001 | Pasadena, CA | 27th International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
28 | 17 Mar 2003 | 21 Mar 2003 | Toulouse | Pierre Baudis Congress Centre | 28th International Electric Propulsion Conference | |
29 | 31 Oct 2005 | 4 Nov 2005 | Princeton, NJ | Princeton University | 29th International Electric Propulsion Conference | |
30 | 17 Sep 2007 | 20 Sep 2007 | Florence | Villa Vittoria | 30th International Electric Propulsion Conference | |
31 | 20 Sep 2009 | 24 Sep 2009 | Ann Arbor, MI | University of Michigan | 31st International Electric Propulsion Conference | |
32 | 11 Sep 2011 | 15 Sep 2011 | Wiesbaden | Kurhaus | 32nd International Electric Propulsion Conference | |
33 | 7 Oct 2013 | 10 Oct 2013 | Washington, DC | George Washington University | 33rd International Electric Propulsion Conference | |
34 | 7 Jul 2015 | 10 Jul 2015 | Kobe | Kobe International Conference Center | 34th International Electric Propulsion Conference | |
35 | 8 Oct 2017 | 12 Oct 2017 | Atlanta, GA | Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center | 35th International Electric Propulsion Conference | |
36 | 15 Sep 2019 | 20 Sep 2019 | Vienna | Universität Wien | 36th International Electric Propulsion Conference | |
37 | 2022 | Cambridge, MA | 37th International Electric Propulsion Conference | |||
38 | 23 Jun 2024 | 28 Jun 2024 | Toulouse | IEPC 2024 | 38th International Electric Propulsion Conference | |
39 | 2025 | London | Imperial College London | 39th International Electric Propulsion Conference | ||
40 | 2027 | Los Angeles | 40th International Electric Propulsion Conference |
Proceedings of the recent conferences are available on the website of the ERPS: IEPC archive.
Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites. In-space propulsion exclusively deals with propulsion systems used in the vacuum of space and should not be confused with space launch or atmospheric entry.
A resistojet is a method of spacecraft propulsion that provides thrust by heating a typically non-reactive fluid. Heating is usually achieved by sending electricity through a resistor consisting of a hot incandescent filament, with the expanded gas expelled through a conventional nozzle.
In spacecraft propulsion, a Hall-effect thruster (HET) is a type of ion thruster in which the propellant is accelerated by an electric field. Hall-effect thrusters are sometimes referred to as Hall thrusters or Hall-current thrusters. Hall-effect thrusters use a magnetic field to limit the electrons' axial motion and then use them to ionize propellant, efficiently accelerate the ions to produce thrust, and neutralize the ions in the plume. The Hall-effect thruster is classed as a moderate specific impulse space propulsion technology and has benefited from considerable theoretical and experimental research since the 1960s.
An ion thruster, ion drive, or ion engine is a form of electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. An ion thruster creates a cloud of positive ions from a neutral gas by ionizing it to extract some electrons from its atoms. The ions are then accelerated using electricity to create thrust. Ion thrusters are categorized as either electrostatic or electromagnetic.
A magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster (MPDT) is a form of electrically powered spacecraft propulsion which uses the Lorentz force to generate thrust. It is sometimes referred to as Lorentz Force Accelerator (LFA) or MPD arcjet.
A fusion rocket is a theoretical design for a rocket driven by fusion propulsion that could provide efficient and sustained acceleration in space without the need to carry a large fuel supply. The design requires fusion power technology beyond current capabilities, and much larger and more complex rockets.
The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is an electrothermal thruster under development for possible use in spacecraft propulsion. It uses radio waves to ionize and heat an inert propellant, forming a plasma, then a magnetic field to confine and accelerate the expanding plasma, generating thrust. It is a plasma propulsion engine, one of several types of spacecraft electric propulsion systems.
A magnetohydrodynamic drive or MHD accelerator is a method for propelling vehicles using only electric and magnetic fields with no moving parts, accelerating an electrically conductive propellant with magnetohydrodynamics. The fluid is directed to the rear and as a reaction, the vehicle accelerates forward.
Laser propulsion is a form of beam-powered propulsion where the energy source is a remote laser system and separate from the reaction mass. This form of propulsion differs from a conventional chemical rocket where both energy and reaction mass come from the solid or liquid propellants carried on board the vehicle.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences. In 2015, it had more than 30,000 members among aerospace professionals worldwide.
A field-reversed configuration (FRC) is a type of plasma device studied as a means of producing nuclear fusion. It confines a plasma on closed magnetic field lines without a central penetration. In an FRC, the plasma has the form of a self-stable torus, similar to a smoke ring.
In electromagnetism, a helicon is a low-frequency electromagnetic wave that can exist in bounded plasmas in the presence of a magnetic field. The first helicons observed were atmospheric whistlers, but they also exist in solid conductors or any other electromagnetic plasma. The electric field in the waves is dominated by the Hall effect, and is nearly at right angles to the electric current ; so that the propagating component of the waves is corkscrew-shaped (helical) – hence the term “helicon,” coined by Aigrain.
Spacecraft electric propulsion is a type of spacecraft propulsion technique that uses electrostatic or electromagnetic fields to accelerate mass to high speed and thus generating thrust to modify the velocity of a spacecraft in orbit. The propulsion system is controlled by power electronics.
NASA Design Reference Mission 3.0 was a NASA study for a human space mission to the planet Mars in the 1990s. It was a plan for a human exploration architecture for Mars, and was released in 1998 as an addendum to the early design plans released in 1994. The plan is for a series of multiple launches to send various space transpiration, surface exploration hardware, and human crew to Mars, and to return the crew to Earth in the early 21st century. Various technologies are explored to launch the payloads into space, to send them to Mars, and to reduce overall weight of the mission by various technologies or techniques including nuclear, solar, aerobraking, and in-situ resource use.
The Stuhlinger Medal, whose official name is the "Ernst Stuhlinger Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Electric Propulsion", is the highest honor in the field of electric propulsion for spacecraft bestowed by the Electric Rocket Propulsion Society (ERPS), the main professional society in that field, to persons who made outstanding contributions to the science, technology or development of electric propulsion.
Busek Company Incorporated is an American spacecraft propulsion company that builds thrusters, electronics, and various systems for spacecraft.
Atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion, or air-breathing electric propulsion, shortly ABEP, is a propulsion technology for spacecraft, which could allow thrust generation in low orbits without the need of on-board propellant, by using residual gases in the atmosphere as propellant. Atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion could make a new class of long-lived, low-orbiting missions feasible.
Psyche is a NASA Discovery Program space mission launched on October 13, 2023 to explore the origin of planetary cores by orbiting and studying the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche beginning in 2029. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages the project.
SPT-140 is a solar-powered Hall-effect ion thruster, part of the SPT-family of thrusters. SPT stands for Stationary Plasma Thruster. Like other members of the SPT series, it creates a stream of electrically charged xenon ions accelerated by an electric field and confined by a magnetic field.
SETS is a Ukrainian aerospace company. The company specializes in manufacturing environmentally friendly electric propulsion systems and subsystems for spacecraft.