To develop the satellites for a low-Earth-orbit environment, atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) systems have become more attractive to researchers in the past decade. The system can use atmospheric molecules as the propellant to provide thrust compensation, which can extend the lifetime of spacecraft (S/C). This comprehensive review reviews the efforts of previous researchers to develop concepts for ABEP systems. Different kinds of space propulsion system are analysed to determine the suitable propulsion for atmosphere-breathing S/C. Further discussion about ABEP systems shows the characteristic of different thrusters. The main performance of the ABEP system of previous studies is summarized, which provides further research avenues in the future. Results show great potential for thrust compensation from atmospheric molecules. However, the current studies show various limitations and are difficult to apply to space. The development of ABEP needs to solve some problems, such as the intake efficiency, ionization power, and electrode corrosion.

中文翻译：

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大气呼吸电动推进系统的全面综述

为了开发用于低地球轨道环境的卫星，近十年来，大气呼吸电动推进（ABEP）系统对研究人员越来越有吸引力。该系统可以使用大气分子作为推进剂来提供推力补偿，从而可以延长航天器（S / C）的寿命。这份全面的综述回顾了以前的研究人员为ABEP系统开发概念的努力。分析了不同类型的空间推进系统，以确定适合大气呼吸的S / C推进器。关于ABEP系统的进一步讨论显示了不同推进器的特性。总结了先前研究的ABEP系统的主要性能，为将来的进一步研究提供了途径。结果表明，从大气分子进行推力补偿的潜力很大。然而，当前的研究显示出各种局限性，并且难以应用于太空。ABEP的发展需要解决一些问题，例如进气效率，电离功率和电极腐蚀。