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In April 2014 this comment was made below the question What propulsion methods does the ISS use for station-keeping?:

In November they said in three years, so perhaps late 2016. Since such claims from a company seeking investment funds are always optimistic, more likely 2017 or later. – Mark Adler Apr 13 '14 at 13:05

Is there a chance the ISS will make a big step in the "all electric" direction in 2017? Is there sufficient electric power? Will the new lithium ion batteries help in any way? See also The ISS just got its first battery refresh in 18 years.

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    $\begingroup$ The new lithium ion batteries will not help with this in any way. That article you linked to about the batteries is incorrect about it being "the first battery refresh", battery swaps have been done before, including on a mission I'm very familiar with, STS-127. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-127 $\endgroup$
    – Organic Marble
    Commented Jan 16, 2017 at 17:19
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    $\begingroup$ @OrganicMarble I took a quick look - I'd forgotten just how much was being put (squeezed?) into the later missions! Ya the article has got it wrong. Maybe it's the first technology upgrade (Nickel... to Lithium...) in 18 years? $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Jan 16, 2017 at 17:43
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    $\begingroup$ I expect that's what they really meant. $\endgroup$
    – Organic Marble
    Commented Jan 16, 2017 at 17:44
  • $\begingroup$ battery changeover also discussed in this answer $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Jul 13, 2019 at 6:32

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the VASIMR test planned by Ad Astra has been cancelled:

On December 8, 2008, Ad Astra signed an agreement with NASA to arrange the placement and testing of a flight version of the VASIMR, the VF-200, on the International Space Station (ISS),[24] but the plan was scrapped in 2015.

The reason:

But a series of agreements with NASA, dating back to June 2005, ended in December 2014, with the U.S. space agency determining that the space station “was not an ideal demonstration platform for the desired performance level of the engines,” NASA spokeswoman Rachel Kraft wrote in an email.

NASA cited VASIMR’s power consumption and test duration requirements as reasons for ending plans to fly the engine on the station.

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  • $\begingroup$ Any idea why? Was there a technology or just technical issue, or just not sufficient benefit? $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Jan 16, 2017 at 16:38
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    $\begingroup$ I had a hunch the electrical power was a non-trivial issue. Even if there was theoretically enough, integrating this drain with the rest of the system and schedule might have been an unwelcome challenge. $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Jan 16, 2017 at 17:59
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    $\begingroup$ Testing is proceeding on schedule as far as I know. Here is an article that explains if much better than I can. arstechnica.com/science/2017/02/… $\endgroup$
    – Charles Lee Lesher
    Commented Oct 30, 2017 at 17:22
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks to the link to the interesting article! But I don't see any mention of putting VASIMR on the International Space Station. Double-check the title (and the body) of the question. $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Oct 30, 2017 at 18:15
  • $\begingroup$ You're right. I was responding to the claim the VASIMR was cancelled. Not cancelled, just not going on the ISS until it has be space tested. sen.com/blogs/irene-klotz/… $\endgroup$
    – Charles Lee Lesher
    Commented Oct 30, 2017 at 18:32

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