SPT-100

SPT-series thrusters. Upper-left one is SPT-100.

SPT-100 is a Hall-effect ion thruster, part of the SPT-family of thrusters. SPT stands for Stationary Plasma Thruster. It creates a stream of electrically charged xenon ions accelerated by an electric field and confined by a magnetic field.[1]

The thruster is manufactured by Russian OKB Fakel, and was first launched onboard the Gals-1 satellite in 1994.[2] In 2003, Fakel debuted a second generation of the thruster, called SPT-100B, and in 2011, it presented further upgrades in SPT-100M prototypes.[3] As of 2011, SPT-100 thrusters were used in 18 Russian and 14 foreign spacecraft, including IPSTAR-II, Telstar-8, and Ekspress A and AM constellations.[3]

  1. ^ Sankovic, John M.; Hamley, John A.; Haag, Thomas W. (1993). "Performance Evaluation of the Russian SPT-100 Thruster at NASA LeRC" (PDF). EP-PC-93-094. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  2. ^ "ОКБ ФАКЕЛ / About". Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017. In the early 80s, EDB Fakel started its serial production of the thruster types SPT-50, SPT-60, and SPT-70. The first satellite equipped with SPT-70, Geizer 1, was launched in 1982; and in 1994, a new SPT-100 model was implemented aboard the communication satellite, Gals-1
  3. ^ a b Mitrofanova, O. A.; Gnizdor, R. Yu.; Murashko, V. M.; Koryakin, A. I.; Nesterenko, A. N. (2011). "New Generation of SPT-100" (PDF). IEPC-2011-041. Retrieved 26 January 2017.