Special issue on selected papers from CEPC 2020

The development of electric propulsion has taken decades and in fact, began flight testing as early as the 1960s. However, it was initially slow to develop as an alternative to chemical propulsion systems due to the lack of available on-board electrical power for space vehicles. Since the turn of this century, the booming satellite market, and in particular for small satellites, has driven the demand for propulsion systems with high specific impulse, precisely adjustable thrust, long lifetime, and adaptable for different kinds of small vehicles. At the same time,