One Step Closer To Star Wars Tie Fighter Technology: NASA

"NASA’s newest ion thruster has broken previous records of generating maximum power and propulsion in its latest test, suggesting the technology may become the future of deep space exploration. The X3 thruster is being developed by researchers at the University of Michigan in collaboration with the US Air Force and NASA. The group has been working on the technology since 2009. They first developed a two-channel thruster, the X2, before the more powerful X3 was created."