Propulsion systems compared: 212 models

From cold-gas microthrusters of a few grams to launcher engines of several tonnes. Thrust is quoted as the manufacturer publishes it — in millinewtons for electric propulsion, in newtons and kilonewtons for chemical — so read it together with the mass column.

Figures are taken from manufacturer datasheets and product pages, normalised to common units. Every row links to the product page and, where available, to the datasheet itself. As of 2026-10-15.

212
models listed
71
manufacturers
1.95 kg
median mass (0.001–92600 kg, 126 values)
33 W
median power (0.001–20000 W, 126 values)
Model Manufacturer Mass, kg Power, W Voltage, V Max dim., mm Thrust Datasheet
Aurora Resistojet Module for Orbit Control (ARM-O) Aurora Propulsion Technologies 0.001 10 — — — PDF
MUSIC Hollow Cathode aliena 0.003 50 — — — —
Micro-A Thrusters Micro Aerospace Solutions 0.01 0.5 — — 0.005 N —
AIS-gPPT3-1C Series Integrated Propulsion Module Applied Ion Systems 0.034 0.5 2 40 0.22uN PDF
100 mN HPGP Thruster Bradford Space 0.04 6.3 — — 0.1 N —
AIS-VAT1-PQ Applied Ion Systems 0.056 2.5 — 42 — —
AIS-VAT1-PQ Micro Vacuum Arc Thruster Applied Ion Systems 0.056 2.5 — 42 — —
AIS-VAT1-DUO Dual Micro Vacuum Arc Thruster Applied Ion Systems 0.084 5 — 84 — —
Pocket Rocket Vacuum Arc Thruster Solid State Propulsion 0.085 0.5 5 45 — PDF
Green Monopropellant Propulsion System Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 0.15 13 — 135 0.153 N —
WaterCube Propulsion Unit Capsule Corporation 0.17 — — — — PDF
AIS-VAT1-QUAD Quad Micro Vacuum Arc Thruster Applied Ion Systems 0.177 10 — 84 — —
Bradford Miniaturised Pressure Transducer Bradford Space 0.18 0.3 — — — PDF
AIS-SWAG1-PQ Sublimation Warm Gas Thruster Applied Ion Systems 0.214 5 — 54 120uN —
Lyra 1 Tesseract 0.24 — — — — PDF
STAR-Water-nano — Water Resistojet for Nanosatellites OhmSpace 0.25 50 — — Up to 20 mN —
Bradford Standard Accuracy Pressure Transducer Bradford Space 0.25 0.3 — — — PDF
Blue Orbit Water Resistojet Blue Orbit Space Systems 0.27 10 — — — PDF
IVO Quantum Drive IVO Limited 0.3 1 — — — —
ALPHARD Monopropellant Family T4i – Technology for Propulsion and Innovation 0.332 — — — — —
VACCO V1E10405-04 Low Pressure ¼” Latch Valve VACCO Industries 0.34 — 20–50 — — —
VACCO V1E10405-05 Low Pressure ¼” Latch Valve VACCO Industries 0.34 — 21–50 — — —
1 N HPGP Thruster Bradford Space 0.39 12 — — 0.25-1 N —
VACCO ArgoMoon MiPS VACCO Industries 0.42 1 9–12.6 — — PDF
5 N HPGP Thruster Bradford Space 0.45 25 — — 1.4-5.5 N —
Jinwu Electric Propulsion System Hongqing Technology (鸿擎科技) 0.5 — — — — —
TunaCan Thruster SteamJet Space 0.54 20 — 80 5-20 mN —
Plugim Electrospray Thruster XIROI 0.55 10 — — > 0.35 mN —
PBR-10 Pale Blue 0.575 6 — — 1.0 mN —
Lyra 22 Tesseract 0.59 — — — — PDF
Orbital Arc Thruster and PPU Orbital Arc 0.6 2000 — — — —
ENPULSION NANO Thruster (IFM Nano Thruster) ENPULSION GmbH 0.68 8 12–28 100 — PDF
Dawn Aerospace Green Chemical Propulsion Thrusters (B1, B5, B20, B200) Dawn Aerospace 0.695 — — — — PDF
Dawn Aerospace Thrusters (B1, B5, B20, B200) Dawn Aerospace 0.695 — — — — PDF
B20 Thruster Dawn Aerospace 0.695 — — — — PDF
AIS-VAT2 Vacuum Arc Thruster Applied Ion Systems 0.7 20 5 92 — —
VACCO V1E10362-01 Low Pressure Dual Coil 3/8” Latch Valve VACCO Industries 0.725 — 21.5–54 — — —
VACCO V1E10362-04 Low Pressure Dual Coil 3/8” Latch Valve VACCO Industries 0.725 — 21.5–54 — — —
VACCO V1E10691-01 ½” Bi-Directional Latch Valve-Low Pressure VACCO Industries 0.75 90 18 — — —
HALO THRUSTERS ExoTerra Resource 0.83 100 — — — PDF
AIS-SWAG1-QUAD Applied Ion Systems 0.86 20 — 86 480uN —
TunaTank Thruster SteamJet Space 0.9 20 — — 5-20 mN —
FireStar Foundation Drive Miles Space / RocketStar 0.98 6 5 95 17.2 mN (all thrusters active) PDF
GATE Thruster S GATE Space 1 — — — — —
Passive Gas Thruster System (PGTS) ThrustMe 1 — — — ~1 mN – 10 mN (configurable) —
22 N HPGP Thruster Bradford Space 1 36 — — 5.5-22 N —
Apollo Constellation Engine Apollo Fusion (Astra) 1 400 — — — PDF
CHIPS (0.5U) CU Aerospace 1.079 — — — 15.00 mN PDF
GP-LAM Liquid Apogee Module Manastu Space 1.1 100 24 — 300 N (BOL) —
AAC Clyde Space PM200 Bi-Propellant Propulsion Module AAC Clyde Space 1.1 12 — — 0.5 N PDF
Liquid-Propellant Low-Thrust Thrusters Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 1.16 — 28 — — —
CUBESAT THRUSTER Perigee Aerospace 1.17 15 — — — —
NASA C-POD Micro Propulsion System VACCO Industries 1.244 0.25 9–12.6 — — PDF
Micro R³ ENPULSION GmbH 1.25 12 28 — 110 W incl. neutralizer PDF
TILE Ionic Liquid Electrospray Thruster Accion Systems 1.25 1 — — — —
ND-50 Neumann Drive — Pulsed Cathodic Arc Thruster Neumann Space 1.4 50 — 100 — —
ALEXIUS Water-Electrolysis Propulsion System MIPRONS 1.4 — — — > 2.5 N (at 30 bar), up to 3 N —
BIT-3 RF Ion Thruster Busek Co. 1.4 56 — — Up to 1.1 mN PDF
PBR-20 Pale Blue 1.5 20 — — 1.0 mN —
BGT-X5 Busek Co. 1.5 20 6–16 — 500 mN nominal PDF
PBI Water Ion Thruster Pale Blue 1.6 60 — — > 0.35 mN —
Thruster One SteamJet Space 1.7 20 — — 5-20 mN —
ND-25TC Neumann Drive — Low-Power Nanosatellite Thruster Neumann Space 1.9 14 — — — —
Green mono-propellant Micro Propulsion System (MiPS) VACCO Industries 2 1 — — — PDF
GATE Thruster L GATE Space 2 — — — — —
PBR-30 Pale Blue 2.1 10 — — 3 - 12 mN —
TRINITY ABE Air Breathing Thruster Blue Orbit Space Systems 2.5 800 — 115 < 20 mN PDF
TRINIT-ION Gridded Ion Thruster Blue Orbit Space Systems 2.5 800 — 115 < 50 mN PDF
TRINITY HET Hall Effect Thruster Blue Orbit Space Systems 2.5 800 — 115 < 100 mN PDF
Warlock Magdrive 2.5 — — — 0.1 – 10 N PDF
Rogue Magdrive 2.5 — — — 0.1 – 10 N PDF
HyNOx 4U CubeSat Propulsion Module ISPTech 2.5 8.5 20–33 — — —
IANUS & PERSEUS Cold Gas Propulsion Systems T4i – Technology for Propulsion and Innovation 2.5 30 12 — — —
REGULUS Electric Propulsion T4i – Technology for Propulsion and Innovation 2.9 30 12–24 343.5 0.25-0.65 mN (0.55 mN @ 50 W) for REGULU —
VACCO JPL MarCO Micro Propulsion System VACCO Industries 3.49 0.5 — — — PDF
Rigel 500 Tesseract 3.5 — — — — PDF
Peregrine Bipropellant Thruster System Benchmark Space Systems 4 3 — — — —
RD840 Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 4.3 — — — — —
Green Mobility Module (GMM) PERSEI Space 5 — — — — —
SPS-25 Propulsion System Space Electric Thruster Systems (SETS) 5 120 — — Up to 14 mN (0.014 N) PDF
200 N HPGP Thruster Bradford Space 5.7 150 — — 50-200 N —
200 N HPGP RCS Thruster Bradford Space 5.7 150 — — 50-200 N —
Maxwell Block 3 RF Plasma Thruster Phase Four 5.9 300 22–34 190 — —
Aurora Hall-effect Propulsion System Orbion Space Technology 8 100 24–35 — — —
Corrective Propulsion System UD-AIPD Moscow Aviation Institute 8 150 26–34 — — —
URA ICE Thruster (Electrolysis Chip Thruster) URA Thrusters 8.2 5 — — 10 mN —
Integrated Propulsion System (IPS) VACCO Industries 9 1 — — — PDF
SPS-40 Propulsion System Space Electric Thruster Systems (SETS) 9 300 — — Up to 31 mN (0.031 N) PDF
SEPTIR Howe Industries 10 3 — — 0.295 mN —
PBH-100 Hall Effect Thruster Pale Blue 10 110 — 300 5 - 8 mN —
PBR-50 Pale Blue 13.4 50 — 300 10 mN —
Centurion Rocket Engine Rocket Propulsion Systems (RPS) 15 — — 609.6 1.5 metric ton [3307 lbf] —
RD843 Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 16.5 — — — — —
SPS-100 Propulsion System Space Electric Thruster Systems (SETS) 20 1750 — — Up to 95 mN (0.095 N) PDF
Corrective Propulsion System 95 Moscow Aviation Institute 20 180 26–34 — — —
Ammonia Jet Propulsion System (APS) Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 24 375 24–34 — — —
Green Propulsion System (4x1N HTP Monopropellant Module) Thaliana Space 25 — — 380 4 x 1 N —
DARUMA Micro Hybrid Propulsion Unit Letara 30 — — — — —
Hybrid Propulsion System (HIS) DELTAV Space Technologies 30 — — 1000 — —
RD860 Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 34 — — — — —
GATE Jetpack GATE Space 36 — — — — —
GATE Jetpack S GATE Space 36 — — 525 — —
Water Hall-effect Thruster Pale Blue 45 600 — 600 10 mN —
RD805 Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 80 — — — — —
GATE Jetpack M GATE Space 80 — — — — —
I-Booster Manastu Space 100 — — — 4 x 1 N —
I-Booster Green Propulsion System Manastu Space 100 — 28 — 0.5 N, 1 N —
Small Plasma Brake (APB-S) Aurora Propulsion Technologies 100 — — — — PDF
GATE Jetpack L GATE Space 105 — — — — —
RD860L Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 106 — — — — —
RD860M Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 112 — — — — —
Multi-Modal Electric Propulsion Engine (MEPE) Aurora Propulsion Technologies 150 — — — 3 mN (MUSIC), 1 mN (ARM, per thruster) PDF
DU802 Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 165.4 — — — — —
RL-10 Upper Stage Engine Family Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris) 167 — — — — —
RD861K Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 214 — — — — —
RD809M Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 325 — — — — —
RD809K Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 330 — — — — —
RD835 / RD835T Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 830 — — — — —
RD870 Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 1420 — — — — —
RD872 Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 1530 — — — — —
SPRINTR Howe Industries 2730 0.04 — — 9,930 N —
RD815 Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 3200 — — — — —
RS-25 Rocket Engine — Space Launch System Core Stage Propulsion Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris) 3526.678 — — 4267.2 — —
RD874 Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 6070 — — — — —
Circumlunar Booster Tug (LBT) Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 30500 — — — — —
Lunar Booster Stage (LBS) Yuzhnoye Design Bureau 92600 — — — — —
1 N GP Thruster Bradford Space — — — — 0.25-1 N —
1N HTP Monopropellant Thruster Thaliana Space — — — — 1 N —
30kN Hybrid Engine Nammo — — — — 30,000 N in vacuum PDF
420N HTP Bipropellant Kick-Stage Engine Thaliana Space — — — — 420 N (per engine) —
Ablation Jet Engine Yuzhnoye Design Bureau — 20 — — 0.1 mN —
Advanced Space Propulsion Research Beyond Reach Labs — 10000 — — — —
AEPS Advanced Electric Propulsion System Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris) — 12000 — — — —
Air-Scooping Electric Thruster (ASET) — Air-Breathing VLEO Propulsion Viridian Space — 50 — — — PDF
AIS-VAT0-DEMO Educational DIY Micro Vacuum Arc Thruster Kit Applied Ion Systems — 2.5 — 50 — PDF
AIS-VAT3 Vacuum Arc Thruster Applied Ion Systems — 40 — 92 256uN (at 4 Hz) —
AMBR 556 N Dual Mode High Performance Rocket Engine Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris) — — — — 556 N (125 lbf) —
Apogee Engine Valve Nammo — — 22 — — PDF
Apollo Constellation Engine (ACE) Ion Thruster Apollo Fusion (Astra) — 200 — — ~12 mN —
Arka Hall Effect Thruster Series Bellatrix Aerospace — 50 — — — —
Astra Satellite Engine (ASE) Astra Space — 400 — — — —
ATOM Monopropellant Thruster DREAM Aerospace — — — — Starting from 1 N —
BGT-X5 Green Monopropellant Thruster Busek Co. — 20 6–16 — 500 mN nominal PDF
BHT-100 Busek Co. — 100 200 — 7 mN PDF
BHT-1500 Busek Co. — 1500 — — 101 mN (Xe) PDF
BHT-200 Busek Co. — 200 250 — 13 mN PDF
BHT-20K Busek Co. — 20000 450 — 1006 mN PDF
BHT-350 Busek Co. — 350 — — 17 mN PDF
BHT-600 Busek Co. — 600 — — 39 mN (Xe) PDF
BHT-6000 Busek Co. — 5000 300 — — PDF
BOOSTER Liftero — 7 — — — —
Cryox Pangea Aerospace — — — — 30 kN —
Electrospray Thrusters Busek Co. — 12 — — <1uN-150uN range per thruster PDF
EPSylon OHB Sweden AB — — — — 8 mN to 18 mN PDF
FPPT Fiber-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster CU Aerospace — — — 53 — —
GITA | Green Impulse Transmitter Inspecity Space Laboratories — — — — High —
GO-2 Electric Propulsion System Morpheus Space — 7 — 113 — —
GP-LAM Manastu Space — — — — 300 N —
Hall-Engine Electric Jet Propulsion System (EJPS) Yuzhnoye Design Bureau — 16 — — — —
Hybrid Rocket Motors DELTAV Space Technologies — — — — 1 N to 200 kN —
HYDROS-C Water Electrolysis Thruster Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (AMERGINT) — 5 — — > 1.2 N PDF
HYDROS® Thruster Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (AMERGINT) — 5 — — — PDF
IHI Aerospace Spacecraft Propulsion Products IHI Aerospace — 6000 — — — —
Jal Microwave Plasma Thruster Bellatrix Aerospace — 5000 — — — —
Kronos Pangea Aerospace — — — — In development; ESA study targets over 2 —
Launcher E-2 Liquid Rocket Engine Launcher (VAST subsidiary) — — — — 22,000 lbf (sea level) —
LeoBear — 500 W Hall-Effect Thruster Pulsar Fusion — 500 — 150 — PDF
MarsRanger — 10 kW Hall-Effect Thruster Pulsar Fusion — 10000 300–500 — — —
Maxwell RF Ion Thruster Phase Four — 20 — — — —
MESSE Magnetically Enhanced Small Satellite Engine aliena — 350 — — 13.5 mN —
MoonRanger — 5 kW Hall-Effect Thruster Pulsar Fusion — 5000 — — — —
Nanosatellite Mono & Bipropellant Propulsion Thruster Stellar Exploration, Inc. — — — — 3 N PDF
NanoTILE CubeSat Propulsion Module Accion Systems — 0.5 — — — —
Nereus 20 B Pangea Aerospace — — — — 20 N —
Nereus 20 M Pangea Aerospace — — — — 5-22 N —
Nereus 200 Pangea Aerospace — — — — 100-240 N —
NEXT-C Ion Propulsion System Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris) — 7000 — — — —
Paladin Magdrive — — — — 1 mN PDF
Prometheus Reusable Rocket Engine arianegroup — — — — ~100 kN —
Pulsed Plasma Rocket (PPR) Howe Industries — 0.28 — — 100,000 N (100 kN) —
R-1E 110 N Bipropellant Rocket Engine Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris) — — — — 110 N (25 lbf) —
R-42 890 N Bipropellant Rocket Engine Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris) — — — — 890 N (200 lbf) —
R-42DM 890 N Dual Mode High Performance Rocket Engine Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris) — — — — 890 N (200 lbf) —
R-4D-11 490 N Bipropellant Rocket Engine Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris) — — — — 490 N (110 lbf) —
R-4D-15 HiPAT 445 N High Performance Rocket Engine Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris) — — — — 445 N (100 lbf) —
R-6F 22 N Bipropellant Rocket Engine Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris) — — — — 22 N (5 lbf) —
RF Ion Thrusters Busek Co. — 56 — — Up to 1.25 mN PDF
RPS Hypersonic Booster Rocket Propulsion Systems (RPS) — — — — 3307 lbf —
Scintilla Propulsion Engine Space Machines Company — — — — 50 N —
Spacecraft Propulsion Products IHI Aerospace — 6000 — — — —
Spacecraft Propulsion Systems IHI Aerospace — 6000 — — — —
SpaceVan Electric Propulsion Transfer System Exotrail — 300 — — — —
spaceware™ Hall Effect Thruster Exotrail — 60 16–28 — 2.5 mN —
ST-100 Hall Thruster Space Electric Thruster Systems (SETS) — 800 — — 50-95 mN (0.05-0.095 N), depends on inpu PDF
ST-25 Hall Thruster Space Electric Thruster Systems (SETS) — 100 — — 5-15 mN (0.005-0.015 N) PDF
ST-40 Hall Thruster Space Electric Thruster Systems (SETS) — 250 — — 13-36 mN (0.013-0.036 N) PDF
Standard Micro Propulsion System (MiPS) VACCO Industries — 1 — — — PDF
STAR-Water-micro — Water Resistojet for Microsatellites OhmSpace — 500 — — — —
Starfire (Direct Fusion Drive) Princeton Satellite Systems — 0.001 — — — —
Starling Ardent Benchmark Space Systems — 10 — — — —
Sunbird — Nuclear Fusion Propulsion System Pulsar Fusion — 0.002 — — — —
T6 Ion Thruster QinetiQ Space — 4500 — — — PDF
ThermaSat Howe Industries — 8 — — — —
ThrustMe In-Space Propulsion Solutions ThrustMe — 150 — — — —
URA HET (Hall-effect Thruster) - WETHET / AquaHET URA Thrusters — 2000 — — 48 mN —
URA MET (Microwave Electrothermal Thruster) - AQUAMET / NMET / COMET / XMET / KMET URA Thrusters — 1000 — — 30-150 mN —
Uvireso Bismuth Hall-Effect Thruster UVIRESO Space — 100 — — — —
VACCO Thruster Valves VACCO Industries — — — — 2.0 lbf PDF
VACCO V1E10453-01 3/8” Low Pressure Propellant Latch Valve VACCO Industries — — 20–38.6 — — —
VACCO V1E10454-01 ¼” Low Pressure Latch Valve VACCO Industries — — 21–38.6 — — —
VACCO V1E10689-01 ½” Bi-Directional Latch Valve-Low Pressure VACCO Industries — 90 18 — — —
XFS (Xenon Feed System) Space Electric Thruster Systems (SETS) — — — 145 — PDF

A dash means the figure is not published by the manufacturer. For 3 model(s) an extracted value fell outside the plausible range for this class of hardware and is withheld pending manual checking, rather than shown as fact. Download the same table as CSV — free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).

See also: all propulsion systems in the catalogue · component benchmarks · other comparisons