Roscosmos’ Keldysh Center Unveils Hall Engines for GEOsats and Space Tugs at Army-2022 Forum – Parabolic Arc

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MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — The Keldysh Center (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) presented correction systems for heavy geostationary spacecraft based on the KM-75 Hall engines and ID-200KR ion engines at the Army-2022 International Military-Technical Forum. The center also unveiled an electric propulsion system based on the KM-10 Hall engine for space stations and tugs at the forum.

The correction system for heavy geostationary satellites based on the KM-75 engine is the first system in the world based on a Hall-type engine with an accelerating voltage of 810 V, which is almost three times higher than foreign analogues and provides savings of up to 40% of the working fluid (xenon). The KM-75 engine provides the highest specific impulse among Hall engines of this class. The engine went through a full cycle of ground experimental testing with full confirmation of the resource.

The correction system for heavy geostationary spacecraft based on the ID-200KR engine is the first domestic system of this type based on an ion engine. The ID-200KR engine provides a significant gain in specific impulse compared to Hall engines of this class. The use of carbon-carbon composite material can significantly increase the life of the engine.

These systems are designed to correct the spacecraft’s orbit in the “north-south” and “west-east” directions. To supply the xenon working fluid to the engines, a flow control unit is used, which has unique characteristics in terms of power consumption, weight and overall dimensions.

The Hall thruster is one of the most common types of electric rocket engines, characterized by the presence of an external magnetic field. When a potential difference is applied between the cathode and the anode, positive plasma ions are accelerated and reactive thrust is created.

Also at the Army-2022 forum, the Keldysh Center presented a correction system for light geostationary spacecraft based on the KM-60 engine, which is the first system in the world based on a Hall-type engine with an accelerating voltage of 500 V, which saves up to 25% of the working fluid ( xenon) relative to domestic and foreign analogues.

KM-10 Hall Engine for Space Stations and Tugs

The KM-10 Hall engine is designed to solve transport problems, for example, as part of space tugs and manned stations, or to solve the problems of final insertion of a spacecraft from a reference to a target orbit with the possibility of subsequent correction of its orbit.

The main components of the system are: the propulsion unit (motor and flow control unit), the conversion and control system, the working fluid supply unit and the working fluid storage unit.

The KM-10 engine can operate within a wide range in terms of power (1.5–15 kW) and discharge voltage (300–900 V), providing high performance in terms of efficiency (up to 65%) and specific thrust impulse (up to 3000 s). At the same time, life tests at 500 V at a power of 10.5 kW demonstrated the almost complete absence of erosion of the output rings, which provides unprecedented resource characteristics.