SPT-100

The Russian-designed SPT-100 Hall-effect electrostatic engine of OKB Fakel is the core of the PPS-1350-G supplied by Snecma Moteurs for the SMART-1 spacecraft of ESA. The Xenon ions are accelerated by the so-called Hall-effect, when the electrical field is created while the current runs across a magnetic field. The engines develops 70 mN of thrust, while its specific impulse is 16,400 m/s.
It was back in 1993 that the OKB Fakel (Russia0, Space Systems/Loral (USA), Snecma Moteurs (France) and Atlantic Research Corporation (USA) formed a joint venture, International Space Technologies Ltd., to market the Russian SPT-100 plasma engine. The PPS-1350 was first installed on the Stentor spacecraft lost in a launch failure in December 2002. By now, these engines have been installed and flown on the Russian GALS and Express and the French-Russian SESAT telecommunications satellites, as well as on a number of Western geostationary satellites (Intelsat X and some of the Astra’s) and the ESA’s SMART-1 technology demonstration mission.
For the new European platform Alphabus with a power system of 12-20 kW Snecma and Fakel are developing a more powerful plasma PPS-5000 with an increased specific impulse of up to 20,000 m/s.