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]
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