ABEP and VLEO satellites.

The futuristic ABEP shuttle can look a little bit like this fictional space fighter. Air inlets pull thin gas into the engine. Then the system ionizes that gas. And the system will shoot those ions back. The atmospheric laser-ramjet engine can act like a regular ramjet. But the laser or microwave system can drive the gas expansion in the combustion chamber. The laser- or electric ramjet engine can be the next-generation aviation system. The electric jet engine. Or a plasma jet engine. And its ramjet version can be connected to ABEP systems—the ABEP systems tested in laboratories. 

Real orbital tests.  Have not yet been conducted. 

Atmospheric-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) can allow a satellite to remain in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) almost indefinitely. The VLEO orbiter is an ideal place for reconnaissance satellites. But the problem is this. That orbiter orbits at an altitude of 100-200 kilometers. And there. The air resistance makes satellites drop back to Earth quite soon. Or the satellite must use its engine very often. Every single satellite has limited fuel capacity. The VLEO vehicle must return to Earth quite soon. And that is the thing that makes the VLEO missions very difficult. ABEP engine. 

Can be the solution to this problem. The system pulls very thin air into its chamber. Then the system ionizes that gas. And after that. The ion system pushes ionized gas backwards. The ABEP engine can get its electricity from solar panels. Theoretically, that engine system could keep a satellite in VLEO. For. Unlimited time. The thruster uses an electron cannon to ionize that gas. And then accelerators push that gas backward. 

SR-72 Dark Star. Or. Some of its concepts. Those systems can also be connected with ABEP. 

Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion concept. Those systems can also be used as plasmoid weapons. 

Another version is that the lasers or microwaves can expand that gas. And. That expansion pushes the satellite upward. The fact is that. The ABEP systems can also be installed with electric jet engines or ramjet engines. The system uses ramjets or other air-breathing systems to transport that spacecraft to a trans-atmospheric trajectory. There. That system can start an ABEP drive. Microwave or laser systems can raise the thrust. 

The big thing. In an ABEP engine. The system can also use it to create a plasma tail. The plasma tail can deny satellite communication. And deny radars the ability to see through that tail. This can. Make it possible. To use ABEP systems as plasmoid jammers. The ABEP systems can also increase the next-generation spy planes’ and missiles’ flight time.  Maybe next-generation spy planes like the SR-72 Dark Star and other similar systems can use the ABEP drive. When. They travel in a VLEO orbiter. In those cases, the aircraft accelerates to a ballistic jump. And. Activates its ABEP drive. While. It returns to the atmosphere. This system. Can give spaceplanes a new ability. ABEP engines are suitable for small-sized systems. The engine system can use solar panels and RTGs (Isotope batteries). 

Or. Full-scale. But small-sized portable nuclear reactors as their power supply.  Maybe. Some next-generation stealth bombers can also use the ABEP systems. The missile. It can have an ABEP carrier. That system keeps it in VLEO. There, it can wait for orders. Then that cruise missile can dive to the ozone layer and start the mission. The ABEP system can use solar panels. Or an internal nuclear reactor. The remarkable thing is that. This kind of system can also operate in other planets’ orbiters. The Venus orbiters can use that system in low-orbit missions. 

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/new-electric-jet-engine-actually-works-inside-the-atmosphere

https://scitechdaily.com/new-satellite-engine-could-use-earths-atmosphere-as-fuel-to-stay-in-orbit-indefinitely/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere-breathing_electric_propulsion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_SR-72

https://medium.com/@batrobin/abep-and-vleo-satellites-cb6a3173d5d6