Editing Ion thruster (section)

===Hall-effect thruster life===
Hall-effect thrusters suffer from strong erosion of the ceramic discharge chamber by impact of energetic ions: a test reported in 2010 <ref name="leipzig">{{cite web|url=http://www.uni-leipzig.de/~iom/muehlleithen/2010/Bundesmann_2010.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.uni-leipzig.de/~iom/muehlleithen/2010/Bundesmann_2010.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=A closer look at a stationary plasma thruster}}</ref> showed erosion of around 1&nbsp;mm per hundred hours of operation, though this is inconsistent with observed on-orbit lifetimes of a few thousand hours.

The [[Advanced Electric Propulsion System]] (AEPS) is expected to accumulate about 5,000 hours and the design aims to achieve a flight model that offers a half-life of at least 23,000 hours<ref name='AEPS 2017'/> and a full life of about 50,000 hours.<ref name="Rocketdyne 2016">[http://rocket.com/article/aerojet-rocketdyne-signs-contract-develop-advanced-electric-propulsion-system-nasa Aerojet Rocketdyne Signs Contract to Develop Advanced Electric Propulsion System for NASA] Aerojet Rocketdyne Press release, 28 April 2016 Accessed: 27 July 2018.</ref>