Alta S.p.A., Osaka University, University of Southern California, Princeton University's Electric Propulsion and Plasma Dynamics Lab (EPPDyL) (where MPD thruster research has continued uninterrupted since 1967), and NASA centers (Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Glenn Research Center), has resolved many problems related to the performance, stability and lifetime of MPD thrusters. An MPD thruster was tested on board the Japanese Space Flyer Unit as part of EPEX (Electric Propulsion Experiment) that was launched March 18, 1995 and retrieved by space shuttle mission STS-72 January 20, 1996. To date, it is the only operational MPD thruster to have flown in space as a propulsion system. Experimental prototypes were first flown on Soviet spacecraft. The applied-field MPD thruster in development at the Institute of Space Systems of the University of Stuttgart reached a thruster efficiency of 61.99% in 2019, corresponding to a specific impulse of Isp = 4665 s and 2.75 N of thrust. See also Hall effect thruster Ion thruster Magnetohydrodynamics Magnetic sail Pulsed plasma thruster Solar panels on spacecraft Spacecraft propulsion VASIMR List of plasma (physics) articles References External links Choueiri, Edgar Y. (2009). New dawn of electric rocket. Next-Generation Thruster Search engine for a large archive of technical papers on MPD thruster research MPD - MagnetoPlasmaDynamic Propulsion Spacecraft propulsion Magnetic propulsion devices