List of spacecraft with electric propulsion

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In chronological order, spacecraft are listed equipped with electric space propulsion. This includes both cruise engines and/or thrusters for attitude and orbit control. It is not specified whether the given engine is the sole means of propulsion or whether other types of engine are also used on a spacecraft. The list does not claim to be comprehensive.

Contents

Chronological overview

Planned missions

Planned missions
Spacecraft nameLaunch dateThruster typeModelPropellantSpacecraft customerThruster primeComment
GSAT-202024Hall effect thrusterXenon Flag of India.svg ISRO Flag of India.svg ISRO
ASTER 2025Hall effect thrusterPMHTXenon Flag of Brazil.svg AEB Flag of Brazil.svg UnB MetNet bus
ETS-92025Hall effect thrusterXenon Flag of Japan.svg JAXA Flag of Japan.svg IHI Aerospace
NASA Gateway2025Hall effect thrusterXenon Flag of the United States.svg NASA Flag of the United States.svg L3-Aerojet Rocketdyne/Busek
AQUIS2025Vacuum Arc JetTungsten Flag of Germany.svg Space Team Aachen Flag of Germany.svg Space Team AachenFEEP in development as upgrade
Soyuz-Sat-O ?Pulsed plasma thrusterAPPT-155PTFE Flag of Russia.svg
Flag of Belarus.svg 		Flag of Russia.svg RIAME

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spacecraft propulsion</span> Method used to accelerate spacecraft

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hall-effect thruster</span> Type of electric propulsion system

In spacecraft propulsion, a Hall-effect thruster (HET) is a type of ion thruster in which the propellant is accelerated by an electric field. Hall-effect thrusters are sometimes referred to as Hall thrusters or Hall-current thrusters. Hall-effect thrusters use a magnetic field to limit the electrons' axial motion and then use them to ionize propellant, efficiently accelerate the ions to produce thrust, and neutralize the ions in the plume. The Hall-effect thruster is classed as a moderate specific impulse space propulsion technology and has benefited from considerable theoretical and experimental research since the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ion thruster</span> Spacecraft engine that generates thrust by generating a jet of ions

An ion thruster, ion drive, or ion engine is a form of electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. An ion thruster creates a cloud of positive ions from a neutral gas by ionizing it to extract some electrons from its atoms. The ions are then accelerated using electricity to create thrust. Ion thrusters are categorized as either electrostatic or electromagnetic.

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A magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster (MPDT) is a form of electrically powered spacecraft propulsion which uses the Lorentz force to generate thrust. It is sometimes referred to as Lorentz Force Accelerator (LFA) or MPD arcjet.

A pulsed plasma thruster (PPT), also known as a Pulsed Plasma Rocket (PPR), or as a plasma jet engine (PJE), is a form of electric spacecraft propulsion. PPTs are generally considered the simplest form of electric spacecraft propulsion and were the first form of electric propulsion to be flown in space, having flown on two Soviet probes starting in 1964. PPTs are generally flown on spacecraft with a surplus of electricity from abundantly available solar energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear thermal rocket</span> Nuclear spacecraft propulsion technology

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket</span> Electrothermal thruster in development

The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is an electrothermal thruster under development for possible use in spacecraft propulsion. It uses radio waves to ionize and heat an inert propellant, forming a plasma, then a magnetic field to confine and accelerate the expanding plasma, generating thrust. It is a plasma propulsion engine, one of several types of spacecraft electric propulsion systems.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar electric propulsion</span> High efficiency engine for space travel

Solar electric propulsion (SEP) refers to the combination of solar cells and electric thrusters to propel a spacecraft through outer space. This technology has been exploited in a variety of spacecraft designs by the European Space Agency (ESA), the JAXA, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA. SEP has a significantly higher specific impulse than chemical rocket propulsion, thus requiring less propellant mass to be launched with a spacecraft. The technology has been evaluated for missions to Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spacecraft electric propulsion</span> Type of space propulsion using electrostatic and electromagnetic fields for acceleration

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reaction Engines</span> British aerospace company based in Oxfordshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">OKB Fakel</span> Subsidiary of Roscosmos

EDB Fakel is a Russian electric propulsion system development company. It is located in Kaliningrad in Kaliningrad Oblast. It was founded in 1955 as a Propulsion laboratory of the Soviet Academy of Sciences; in 1962 it obtained status of Design Bureau, OKB.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Busek</span> American spacecraft propulsion company

Busek Company Incorporated is an American spacecraft propulsion company that builds thrusters, electronics, and various systems for spacecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NEXT (ion thruster)</span> Space propulsion system, a gridded electrostatic ion thruster

The NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) project at Glenn Research Center is a gridded electrostatic ion thruster about three times as powerful as the NSTAR used on Dawn and Deep Space 1 spacecraft. It was used in DART, launched in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asteroid Redirect Mission</span> 2013–2017 proposed NASA space mission

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Research and Development Institute of Mechanical Engineering</span> Subsidiary of Roscosmos

FSUE Research and Development Institute of Mechanical Engineering, also known as NIIMash, is a Russian rocket engine design and manufacturing company specialized in small thrusters. It is located in the city of Nizhnyaya Salda, Sverdlovsk Oblast. It started as the B-175 factory of the NII-1 research institute, where Mikhail G. Mironov directed the development of liquid rocket engines research and testing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power and Propulsion Element</span> Power and propulsion module for the Gateway space station

The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), previously known as the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle propulsion system, is a planned solar electric ion propulsion module being developed by Maxar Technologies for NASA. It is one of the major components of the Lunar Gateway. The PPE will allow access to the entire lunar surface and a wide range of lunar orbits and double as a space tug for visiting craft.

References

  1. ↑ "Present and Future of Space Electric Propulsion in Europe" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  2. ↑ "paper From RNII to Keldysh Research Center on page 56 of the magazine Земля и Вселенная #5 2013" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  3. ↑ "IAC Archive — IAC-07/C4/4/1". iafastro.directory. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  4. ↑ "Review of works on Electric propulsion at Keldysh Research Center" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  5. ↑ "GSLV D3/GSAT-4 Brochure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  6. ↑ "ISRO to Test Electric Propulsion on Satellites". Archived from the original on December 2, 2015.
  7. ↑ Murthy, P. V. N.; Raghavaiah, Vaddi; Sowjanya, P.; Renuka, R.; Kumar, Shiv S.; Hariharan, V. K.; Rao, M. Nageswara (Dec 2016). "Study on EMI/ESD effects of Electric Propulsion System on spacecraft systems and mitigation techniques". 2016 International Conference on ElectroMagnetic Interference & Compatibility (INCEMIC). IEEE. pp. 1–4. doi:10.1109/incemic.2016.7921463. ISBN   9781509058402. S2CID   44506648.
  8. ↑ "Центр Келдыша разработал новый электроракетный двигатель". ТАСС. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  9. ↑ HUANG, WENSHENG (Dec 2017). "Electric rockets power bigger share".
  10. ↑ "MediaRoom - News Releases/Statements". MediaRoom. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  11. ↑ "Kacific1 Milestones: Bus and Payload Integration Complete – Kacific" . Retrieved 2019-12-17.
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