The "MINOTOR" H2020 project for ECR thruster development
Electric propulsion has been identified by European actors as a strategic technology for improving competitiveness in different space areas such as in-space operations and transportation. The European Commission has set up the "In-space Electrical Propulsion and Station-Keeping" Strategic Research Cluster (SRC) in the "Horizon 2020" funding framework with the goal of enabling major advances in Electric Propulsion for in-space operations and transportation. In this framework, the MINOTOR project was funded to mature a potentially disruptive cathodeless electric propulsion technology, the Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) thruster. In recent years, the consortium leader ONERA has built up a large experience on ECR technology for electric propulsion, and the MINOTOR project will bring the expertise from three industrial partners (TMI, TAS-B and SAFRAN) and two university partners (UC3M and JLU) to take the next step. ; This work was made in the framework of project MINOTOR that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730028.