MSL is currently involved in the recent ring cusp development activities taking place in UK and Europe and is designing and developing a 30-cm diameter ring cup discharge chamber within an ESA GSTP project. MSL is also collaborating with Ariane Group in the design, development and testing of the neutraliser cathode for the RIT-2X gridded ion engine. In addition to this, MSL has also developed the diagnostics needed for these devices and in particular electrostatic probes for plasma measurements in ion engines and both impulsive and steady state thrust balances.
