ANALYSIS OF BENEFITS AND RISKS OF ORBIT RAISING USING ELECTRIC PROPULSION

As an advanced propulsion technology,electric propulsion is widely used in GEO satellite.The primary reason for electric propulsion application was the high specific impulse that can reduce propellant mass.In China,key technologies of electric propulsion have been broken through and been tested in orbit.Recently,the application of electric propulsion has expanded in station orbit keeping.However,both benefits and risks exist in orbit raising by using electric propulsion.An analysis has been performed to determine the benefits and risks of orbit raising by using electric propulsion in this paper.