Russian rocket engine makers have tested an innovative type of satellite thruster powered by krypton, a noble gas that is up to 10 times cheaper than the standard xenon, Roscosmos said Friday.
"Experimental design bureau Fakel … and Keldysh Research Center have for the first time (in Russia) tested a stationary plasma jet engine, SPT-70M, using krypton as a propellant," the state space corporation said in a statement.
Satellites use thrusters to move around once they are in orbit — to dodge space debris, change altitude and even de-orbit.
Xenon has been the working gas of choice in most electric propulsion engines, where it is converted into a plasma jet to produce thrust. The downside of using xenon is its high cost and, as Fakel CEO Gennady Abramenkov said recently, the fact that it is in short supply.
However, Fakel CEO Gennady Abramenkov, said that employing xenon in rocket manufacturing has been challenging for Fakel because of its scarcity and high cost.
Roscosmos announced in December that it was looking for an alternative gas to power satellite engines as it seeks to develop communication and Earth remote sensing constellations by 2030 as part of the Sphere (Sfera) national project.
Roscosmos had revealed back in December that it was seeking an alternative gas to power satellite engines as part of the Sphere (Sfera) national project, which aims to create communication and Earth remote sensing constellations by 2030.
Back in January, Yuri Borisov, the head of Roscosmos, said that Russia must have at least 1,000 satellites in orbit by 2023.
Russia currently has about 200 satellites in orbit and must begin producing 250 spacecraft annually in order to reach this five-fold increase by 2030.
The 1,000 satellite target should vary in function and perform communication, remote sensing, weather monitoring, and navigation tasks.
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