photo credit: snecma Snecma has completed a series of endurance tests on its PPS®1350-E electric plasma thruster, which is used onboar...
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| photo credit: snecma |
Snecma has completed a series of endurance tests on its PPS®1350-E electric plasma thruster, which is used onboard satellites.
Tests were carried out in phases from January 2013 to July 2014 on a space vacuum test rig at Snecma’ plant in Vernon, west of Paris, France.
The series of endurance tests totaling 6,700 hours of operation producing a total impulse of 3.4 million Newton-seconds (MN.s), a world record for this type of thruster.
The PPS®1350-E electric propulsion is used for the transfer of a geostationary satellite into its definitive orbit and for small orbit corrections required throughout its orbital life. This system significantly reduces satellite weight, by reducing the amount of chemical propellant.
Rated at 2.5 kW of electrical power, the PPS®1350-E is derived from the 1.5-kW PPS®1350-G, which is already qualified. Between 2003 and 2006, the PPS®1350-G powered the European Space Agency’s Smart-1 probe from Earth orbit into lunar orbit. Four of these thrusters provide North-South station keeping on the Alphasat satellite, launched in July 2013. The PPS®1350-E has already been chosen for an upgraded Alphabus platform, with qualification expected in early 2016.
Snecma has developed electric thrusters for more than 30 years, and now offers a range of Hall effect plasma thrusters and propulsion systems rated at 300W to 20 kW. Used in an "all electric" configuration, this technology reduces the weight of a geostationary satellite by 40%.
In addition to the PPS®1350 product line (1.5-2.5kW), Snecma is developing the PPS®5000 (5kW) family of thrusters to meet propulsion requirements for future generations of all-electric satellites (no longer requiring chemical propulsion systems). Both Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space France have already chosen the PPS®5000 for their platforms.
