  Operating satellites in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) benefits the already
expanding New Space industry in applications including Earth Observation and
beyond. However, long-term operations at such low altitudes require propulsion
systems to compensate for the large aerodynamic drag forces. When using
conventional propulsion systems, the amount of storable propellant limits the
maximum mission lifetime. The latter can be avoided by employing
Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) system, which collects the
residual atmospheric particles and uses them as propellant for an electric
thruster. Thus, the requirement of on-board propellant storage can ideally be
nullified. At the Institute of Space Systems (IRS) of the University of
Stuttgart, an intake, and a RF Helicon-based Plasma Thruster (IPT) for ABEP
system are developed within the Horizons 2020 funded DISCOVERER project. In
order to assess possible future use cases, this paper proposes and analyzes
several novel ABEP based mission scenarios. Beginning with technology
demonstration mission in VLEO, more complex mission scenarios are derived and
discussed in detail. These include, amongst others, orbit maintenance around
Mars as well as refuelling and space tug missions. The results show that the
ABEP system is not only able to compensate drag for orbit maintenance but also
capable of performing orbital maneuvers and collect propellant for applications
such as Space Tug and Refuelling. Thus, showing a multitude of different future
mission applications.
