CHINA-INTERNAL: S&T
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Duowei News, a US-based Chinese-language news outlet reported that China's 801st Research Institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)'s Sixth Academy (the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology) has announced that it has produced a thruster which may last for 18,000 hours and a lamp which can last 75,000 hours. A thruster's life is said to be determined by how long it is used though there is no internationally recognized measurement for a lamp's life.
(Comments: Satellites and space probes powered by the thruster require require less fuel then their counterparts powered by chemical fuels. That could increase their payloads since they could make better use of the extra room formerly occupied by fuel. If the Chinese satellite Dong Fang Hong 4 replaces its two large chemical-fuel tanks with the Hall thruster, it can reduce the amount of fuel it carries by 80% and its weight from 4.8 tons to 1.9 tons. The thruster is perfect for exploring Mars, asteroids and the edge of the universe since the spacecraft used to carry out such missions cannot solely rely on chemical propulsion.)
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