SPT-140

Test-firing of the Psyche spacecraft's SPT-140 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

SPT-140 is a solar-powered Hall-effect ion thruster, part of the SPT-family of thrusters. SPT stands for Stationary Plasma Thruster.[1][2] Like other members of the SPT series, it creates a stream of electrically charged xenon ions accelerated by an electric field and confined by a magnetic field.[3]

The thruster is manufactured by the Russian OKB Fakel, who collaborated during development with NASA's Glenn Research Center, Space Systems Loral, and Pratt & Whitney beginning in the late 1980s.[4][5] It was first tested at the Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory in 1997.[6] In 2002, it was tested as a 3.5 kW unit by the United States Air Force as part of its Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology program.[7] In 2023, the thruster was launched aboard NASA's Psyche spacecraft.[8]

Specifications

SPT-140	Parameter/units [9][10]
Type	Hall-effect thruster
Power [11]	Max: 4.5 kW Min: 900 watts
Specific impulse (Isp)	1800 seconds
Thrust	280 mN[10]
Thruster mass	8.5 kg

See also

• PPS-1350
• SPT-100

References

1. Agle, D. C.; Russell, Jimi; Cantillo, Laurie; Brown, Dwayne (September 28, 2017). "NASA Glenn Tests Thruster Bound for Metal World". NASA. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. Lord, Peter W.; van Ommering, Gerrit (2015). Evolved Commercial Solar Electric Propulsion: A Foundation for Major Space Exploration Missions (PDF). 31st Space Symposium, Technical Track, April 13–14, 2015, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
3. 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.
4. "Native Electric Propulsion Engines Today" (in Russian). Novosti Kosmonavtiki. 1999. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
5. Delgado, Jorge J.; Corey, Ronald L.; Murashko, Vjacheslav M.; Koryakin, Alexander I.; Pridanikov, Sergei Y. (2014). Qualification of the SPT-140 for use on Western Spacecraft. 50th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, July 28–30, 2014, Cleveland, Ohio. doi:10.2514/6.2014-3606. AIAA 2014–3606.
6. "SPT-140 | UM PEPL". Retrieved 2023-10-19.
7. "T-140". University of Michigan Plasmadynamics & Electric Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
8. Lewis, Briley (2023-10-17). "NASA's Psyche spacecraft will blaze an unusual blue trail across the solar system". Popular Science. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
9. Myers, Roger. "Solar Electric Propulsion: Introduction, Applications and Status" (PDF). Aerojet Rocketdyne. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
10. Johnson, Ian K.; Kay, Ewan; Lee, Ty; Bae, Ryan; Feher, Negar (2017). New Avenues for Research and Development of Electric Propulsion Thrusters at SSL (PDF). 35th International Electric Propulsion Conference October 8–12, 2017 Atlanta, Georgia. IEPC-2017-400. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
11. "Development of the Psyche Mission for NASA's Discovery Program" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2018.