List of spacecraft with electric propulsion

In chronological order, spacecrafts are listed equipped with electric engines. This can be both cruise engines and/or thrusters for attitude and orbit control. It is not specified whether the given engine is the sole means of propulsion or whether other types of engine are also used on a spacecraft. The list does not claim to be comprehensive.

Chronological Overview

Spacecraft with electric propulsion

Name of spacecraft / satellite	Launch date	End of life	Thruster type	No.	Model	Propellant	Country / organization of spacecraft	Thruster provider	Comment
Program 661A Flight A	18 Dec 1962	18 Dec 1962	Ion engine	1		Cesium	USA/USAF	EOS (Electro-Optical Systems, Inc.)	Suborbital, no operation of on-board ion engine
SERT 1	20 Jul 1964	20 Jul 1964	Ion engine	1 1		Mercury Cesium	USA/NASA	NASA Hughes	Space Electric Rocket Test, suborbital (31 min), the first demonstration of an ion engine in space - only the mercury engine by NASA was operated
Program 661A Flight B	29 Aug 1964	29 Aug 1964	Ion engine	1		Cesium	USA/USAF	EOS	Suborbital, experimental test (19 min operation)
Zond 2	30 Nov 1964	14 May 1965	Pulsed plasma thruster			PTFE	USSR	Kurchatov Institute/OKB-1	Is widely regarded as the first application of electric propulsion systems in space (70 min of PPT operation)
Program 661A Flight C	21 Dec 1964	21 Dec 1964	Ion engine	1		Cesium	USA/USAF	EOS	Suborbital, experimental test (4 min operation)
Snapshot	3 Apr 1965		Ion engine	1		Cesium	USA/USAF/Army	EOS	Experimental 1 hour operation, SNAP-10A nuclear reactor
Zond 3	18 Jul 1965		(Electromagnetic drive)			(Argon, helium)	USSR		(Experimental)
ATS-4	10 Aug 1968		Ion engine	2		Cesium	USA/USAF/NASA	EOS	Experimental 10 hours operation, Satellite Technology Applications
LES-6	26 Sep 1968		Pulsed plasma thruster	4		PTFE	USA/USAF	MIT Lincoln Lab.	Lincoln Experimental Satellite
ATS-5	12 Aug 1969		Ion engine	2		Cesium	USA/USAF/NASA	EOS	Experimental
SERT 2	3 Feb 1970		Ion engine	2		Mercury	USA/NASA	NASA/Westinghouse	(Experimental), worked until 1981 (3781 hours)
Meteor 1-10	29 Dec 1971		Plasma thrusters			Mercury	USSR	OKB Fakel	Weather satellite
L-4SC-3	20 Aug 1974		Pulsed plasma thruster			PTFE	Japan/ISAS		(experimental)
SMS	17 May 1974		Pulsed plasma thruster			PTFE	USA/NASA		"Synchronous Meteorological Satellite"
ATS-6	30 May 1974		Ion engine	2		Cesium	USA/NASA	EOS	Experimental 92 hours operation
Meteor-Priroda 1-18	9 Jul 1974		Hall-effect thruster			Xenon	USSR	OKB Fakel	experimental ? Weather satellite
TIP-2	12 Oct 1975		Pulsed plasma thruster		TSPPS	PTFE	USA/US-Navy		Transit Improvement Program (Triad / NOVA), Teflon Solid Propellant Propulsion System
TIP-3	1 Sep 1976		Pulsed plasma thruster		TSPPS	PTFE	USA/US-Navy		Transit Improvement Program (Triad/NOVA), Teflon Solid Propellant Propulsion System
SCATHA (P78-2)	30 Jan 1979		Ion source	1		Xenon	USA/USAF/NASA	Hughes	Satellite Positive Ion Beam System (SPIBS), No engine in the strict sense
Intelsat-5 F-2	6 Dec 1980		Resistojet			Hydrazine	USA/ITSO/Inmarsat		Communications satellite, and 1984, eight satellites
MS-T4 (Tansei 4)	17 Feb 1980	13 May 1983	Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster			Ammonia	Japan/ISAS		Experimental, thruster for spin-up
ETS-4 (Kiku 3)	11 Feb 1981	24 Dec 1984	Pulsed plasma thruster			PTFE	Japan/NASDA	AIST	Engineering Test Satellite (experimental)
Nova-1	14 May 1981		Pulsed plasma thruster		TSPPS	PTFE	USA/US-Navy		Transit Improvement Program (Triad/NOVA), Teflon Solid Propellant Propulsion System
MDT-2A	7 Dec 1981	7 Dec 1981	Pulsed plasma thruster			PTFE	China	SSTC Academia Sinica	Ballistic Missile
Nova-3	12 Oct 1984		Pulsed plasma thruster		TSPPS	PTFE	USA/US-Navy		Transit Improvement Program (Triad/NOVA), Teflon Solid Propellant Propulsion System
Nova-2	16 Jun 1988		Pulsed plasma thruster		TSPPS	PTFE	USA/US-Navy		Transit Improvement Program (Triad/NOVA), Teflon Solid Propellant Propulsion System
EURECA	2 Aug 1992	1 Jul 1993	Ion engine		RIT-10 (RITA)	Xenon	Europe/ESA	MBB	240 hours operation
Telstar 401	16 Dec 1993	11 Jan 1997	Arcjet		MR-508	Hydrazine	USA/AT&T	Rocket Research Co.	Communication satellite (Lockheed Martin AS-7000)
Gals	20 Jan 1994		Hall-effect thruster		SPT-100	Xenon	Russia	OKB Fakel	Communication Satellite
ETS-6 (Kiku 6)	28 Aug 1994	9 Jul 1996	Ion engine		XIES	Xenon	Japan/NASDA	Mitsubishi Electric	Experimental, Xenon Ion Engine System
Telstar 402	9 Sep 1994	9 Sep 1994	Arcjet		MR-508	Hydrazine	USA/AT&T	Rocket Research Co.	Communication satellite (Lockheed Martin AS-7000), exploded shortly after launch
Space Flyer Unit (SFU)	1995	1996	Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster			Ammonia	Japan		EPEX (Electric Propulsion Experiment), (STS-72)
Telstar 402R (Telstar 4)	24 Sep 1995	Sep 2003	Arcjet		MR-508	Hydrazine	USA/AT&T	Rocket Research Co.	Communication satellite (Lockheed Martin AS-7000)
Gals-2	17 Nov 1995		Hall-effect thruster		SPT-100	Xenon	Russia	OKB Fakel	Communication Satellite
A2100	1997		Arcjet		MR-510		USA/Lockheed/Aerojet		Communication Satellite
PAS-5	28 Aug 1997		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	USA/Hughes/PanAmSat		based on Satellite bus HS-601HP or 601HP BSS (first commercial satellite with ion propulsion system)
Galaxy 8i	8 Dec 1997		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	USA/Hughes/Boeing		Satellite Bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS
Astra 2A	30 Aug 1998		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	Luxemburg/SES	Hughes	Satellite bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS
STEX	3 Oct 1998		Hall-effect thruster		TAL-D55	Xenon	USA	TsNIIMash	EPDM (Electric Propulsion Demonstration Module)
Deep Space 1	24 Oct 1998	2001	Ion engine		NSTAR	Xenon	USA/NASA
Satmex 5	5 Dec 1998		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	Mexiko/Hughes/Boeing		satellite bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS
PAS 6B (Intelsat 6B)	21 Dec 1998		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	USA/PanAmSat/Hughes/Boeing		Satellite bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS
ARGOS (P91-1)	23 Feb 1999		Arcjet		ESEX	Ammonia	USA/USAF/Aerojet		Experimental military satellite, ESEX (Electric Propulsion Space Experiment)
Astra 1H	18 Jun 1999		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	Luxemburg/Hughes/Boeing		Satellite bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS
Yamal 101 and 102	6 Sep 1999		Hall-effect thruster		SPT-70	Xenon	Russia/RKK Energija	OKB Fakel	Communications satellite
DirecTV 1R	10 Oct 1999		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	USA/Hughes/Boeing		Communications satellite bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS
Satellites based on the bus HS-702 / BSS-702	22 Dec 1999		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	Hughes/Boeing/USA		first satellite: Galaxy 11
Galaxy 10R	25 Jan 2000		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	USA/Hughes/Boeing		Satellite bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS
Superbird 4	18 Feb 2000		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	Japan/Hughes/Boeing		Satellite bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS
SESAT 1 (Siberia - Europe Satellites)	17 Apr 2000		Hall-effect thruster	8	SPT-100	Xenon	Russia/France/ NPO PM / Thales Alenia Space	OKB Fakel	Communications satellite, Ekspress satellite bus by NPO PM
Galaxy 4R	19 Apr 2000		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	USA/Hughes/Boeing
MightySat II.1	19 Jul 2000	12 Nov 2002	Pulsed plasma thruster			PTFE	USA/AFRL	USAF/NASA/Olin Aerospace Co.	Experimental satellite
PAS 9 (Intelsat 9)	28 Jul 2000		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	USA/Hughes/Boeing
AMSAT-Phase 3-D (OSCAR-40)	16 Nov 2000	2004	Arcjet		ATOS	Ammonia	Germany/AMSAT	University of Stuttgart, IRS	Arcjet Thruster on OSCAR Satellite, operated in cold gas mode
EO-1	21 Nov 2000		Pulsed plasma thruster			PTFE	USA/NASA	NASA & partners	Earth Observing-1
PAS 10 (Intelsat 10)	15 May 2001		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	Luxemburg/Hughes/Boeing		Satellite bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS
Astra 2C	16 Jun 2001		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	Luxemburg/SES	Hughes	Satellite bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS
Artemis	12 Jul 2001		Ion engine	2	RIT-10 (RITA)	Xenon	Europe/ESA	Astrium	Advanced Relay Technology Mission
DirecTV 4S	27 Nov 2001		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	USA/Hughes/Boeing		Satellite Bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS, Communication Satellite
AsiaSat 4	11 Apr 2003		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	China/Hughes/Boeing		Satellite Bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS, Communication Satellite
Hayabusa	9 May 2003	13 Jun 2010	Ion engine	4	μ10	Xenon	Japan/JAXA	JAXA/ISAS
SMART-1	28 Sep 2003	3 Sep 2006	Hall-effect thruster	1	PPS-1350	Xenon	Europe/ESA	Snecma	Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology
Galaxy 13 (Horizons 1)	1 Oct 2003		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	USA/Hughes/Boeing		Satellite Bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS, Communication Satellite
Yamal-200	24 Nov 2003		Hall-effect thruster		SPT-70	Xenon	Russia/RKK Energija	OKB Fakel
AMC 12 (Astra 4A / Star One C12)	3 Feb 2005		Hall-effect thruster	4	SPT-100	Xenon	USA/Alcatel Space	OKB Fakel	Communications satellite based on Alcatel Alenia Spacebus-4000C3
AMC 23	29 Dec 2005		Hall-effect thruster	4	SPT-100	Xenon	USA/Alcatel Alenia	OKB Fakel	Communications satellite based on Alcatel Alenia Spacebus-4000C3
MEASAT 3	11 Dec 2006		Ion engine		XIPS	Xenon	Malaysia/Hughes/Boeing		satellite bus based on HS-601HP or 601HP BSS
TacSat-2	16 Dec 2006	5 Feb 2011	Hall-effect thruster	1	BHT-200	Xenon	USA/USAF	Busek	Microsatellite Propulsion Integration (MPI) Experiment, military applications
FalconSat-3	9 Mar 2007		Pulsed plasma thruster	4	MPACS	PTFE	USA/USAFA	Busek	Experimental Satellite, Micro-Propulsion Attitude Control System
Dawn	27 Sep 2007		Ion engine	3	NSTAR	Xenon	USA/NASA	NASA
GOCE	17 Mar 2009	11 Nov 2013	Ion engine	2	T5	Xenon	ESA	QinetiQ
STSAT-2A	25 Aug 2009	25 Aug 2009	Pulsed plasma thruster				Korea/KARI	KAIST/SaTReC	Satellite lost during injection phase
STSAT-2B	10 Jun 2010	10 Jun 2010	Pulsed plasma thruster				Korea/KARI	KAIST/SaTReC	Satellite lost during injection phase
AEHF-SV-1 (USA-214)	14 Aug 2010		Hall-effect thruster		BPT-4000	Xenon	USA/USAF		Mission saved by Hall thruster
FalconSat-5 (USA-221)	20 Nov 2010		Hall-effect thruster		BHT-200	Xenon	USA/USAF	Busek	Experimental Satellite
AEHF-SV-2 (USA-235)	4 May 2012		Hall-effect thruster		BPT-4000	Xenon	USA/USAF		Operational
PROITERES	9 Sep 2012		Pulsed plasma thruster	4		PTFE	Japan/OIT	OIT	Academic satellite, communication loss before propulsion test
ShiJian-9A (SJ-9A)	14 Oct 2012		Hall-effect thruster Ion engine		HET-40 LIPS-200	Xenon	China	SISP LIP	Experimental Satellite
STRaND-1	25 Feb 2013		Pulsed plasma thruster				UK/SSTL	SSTL	3U Cubesat propulsion demonstration
Alphasat (Inmarsat-4A F4)	25 Jul 2013		Hall-effect thruster		PPS-1350	Xenon	EUR (Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium)	Snecma	Operational
AEHF-SV-3 (USA-246)	18 Sep 2013		Hall-effect thruster		BPT-4000	Xenon	USA/USAF		Operational
STSAT-3	21 Nov 2013	Dec 2015	Hall-effect thruster	1		Xenon	Korea/KARI	KAIST/SaTReC
DubaiSat-2	21 Nov 2013		Hall-effect thruster	1		Xenon	UAE/MBRSC	KAIST/SaTReC & JAXA (Neutralizer)
Wren	21 Nov 2013		Pulsed plasma thruster				Germany/StaDiKo	StaDiKo	1U PocketQub propulsion
ABS-3A and Eutelsat 115 West B	2 Mar 2015		Ion engine		XIPS-25	Xenon	US/ABS (Bermuda)/Satmex	L-3 ETI	First Boeing 702SP all-electric satellites
SERPENS	19 Aug 2015		Pulsed plasma thruster		PPTCUP	PTFE	Brazil	UK (Mars Space Ltd. & Clyde Space Ltd.)	3U Cubesat propulsion demonstration
KaiTou-1A (XinJiShu YanZheng-2)	19 Sep 2015		Hall-effect thruster		LHT-100 1.4 kW ATON-type	Xenon	China	LIP BICE	Experimental Satellite

Planned missions

Name of spacecraft / satellite	Scheduled launch date	Thruster type	Model	Propellant	Country / organization of spacecraft	Thruster provider	Comment
Ionozond	2016	Pulsed plasma thruster	APPT-95	PTFE	Russia/NPP VNIIEM	RIAME	AOCS
PEGASUS	2016	Pulsed plasma thruster		PTFE	Austria	FH Wiener Neustadt	Cubesat propulsion; part of QB50
BepiColombo	2016	Ion engine	T6	Xenon	Europe/ESA & Japan/JAXA	UK (QinetiQ)	Solar Electric Propulsion System (SEPS)
ShiJian-13 (SJ-13)	2017	Ion engine	LIPS-200	Xenon	China	LIP	NSSK of DongFangHong-3B satellite bus
DongFangHong-5	2018	Ion engine	LIPS-300	Xenon	China	LIP
ANU plasma thruster	201?	Helicon Double Layer Thruster (HDLT)			Australian National University/ EADS-Astrium/Surrey Space Center		$3.1 million was funded by the Australia Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.
GSAT-9 (Communication Satellite)	2017			..	India/ISRO		Station-keeping of satellite, including orbit changes