A Small Ion Propelled Spacecraft for Near Earth Experiments

It has become increasingly apparent that designers of today\u27s large and complex spacecraft are reluctant to adopt many new and innovative technologies due to the lack of in-orbit operational experience with these devices, a particular example being ion propulsion. The reasons for this are understandable but as a consequence many new ideas are caught in a \u27chicken and egg\u27 situation where they will not be flown until they have been and shown to work reliably. A study has been carried out in an attempt to provide a simple, low cost spacecraft that can be launched from almost any vehicle into any orbits that could subsequently be used as a testbed for small innovative ideas