After the completion of two parallel extensive test campaigns aimed at consolidating respectively the thruster and the cathode design, HT100 and HC1 have been coupled together giving birth to the first low-power (<200W) Hall thruster unit entirely developed by SITAEL.

HT100 Hall effect thruster has a nominal power of 175W, can operate efficiently in a power range between 100W and 300W and demonstrated a lifetime in excess of 2200 hours. The cathode, HC1, has been designed as a perfect match for this thruster, works at a nominal current of 0.7A and has an integrated heater to ease the start-up phase by reducing the ignition voltage below 300V (during the latest test campaign an ignition potential of only 100V turned out to be sufficient to successfully start it up).

Over 20 repeatable thruster unit ignitions have already been cumulated, with tens of hours of operation where the thruster unit has shown an excellent performance with efficiencies exceeding 35%.

SITAEL is now among the very few companies in the world that have in-house all the key technologies to autonomously provide a complete electric propulsion system for small satellites.