Applications
Hall thrusters have been flying in space since December 1971 when the Soviets launched an SPT-50 on the Meteor satellite. Over 240 thrusters have flown in space since that time with a 100% success rate. Hall thrusters are now routinely flown on commercial GEO communications satellite where they are used for orbit insertion and stationkeeping.
The first Hall thruster to fly on a western satellite was a Russian D-55 built by TsNIIMASH, on the NRO's STEX spacecraft, launched on October 3, 1998.
The solar electric propulsion system of the European Space Agency's SMART-1 spacecraft used a Snecma PPS-1350-G Hall thruster. SMART-1 was a technology demonstration mission that orbited the moon. This use of the PPS-1350-G, starting on September 28, 2003, was the first use of a Hall thruster outside of geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO). Unlike most Hall thruster propulsion systems used in commercial applications, the Hall thruster on SMART-1 could be throttled over a range of power, specific impulse, and thrust.
- Discharge power: 0.46–1.19 kW
- Specific impulse: 1,100–1,600 s
- Thrust: 30–70 mN
In 2005, SMART-1 exhausted its xenon supply after flawlessly operating the thruster and establishing new records for Hall thruster operation in space
- Thruster operating time: 5,000 h
- Xenon throughput: 82 kg
- Total impulse: 1.1 MN·s
- Total ΔV: 3.9 km/s
In parallel to the flight demonstration, a qualification model (QM) PPS-1350-G has also undergone wear testing on the ground. Through 2007, the QM model has demonstrated:
- Thruster operating time: 10,500 h
- Total impulse: 3.39 MN·s
- Start/stop cycles: 7,309
Read more about this topic: Hall Effect Thruster