T6 Ion Thruster
QinetiQ Space
22 cm gridded Kaufman ion thruster — 4.5 kW, 250 mN thrust — flight-proven on ESA's BepiColombo mission to Mercury.
Typed specifications39 values
Discloses 7 of 10 fields engineers filter by in this category (category median 3).
- Propulsion family
- electric datasheet p.1 electric derived from product name/propellant
- Mass
- 65 kg Arch #1 · datasheet p.16
- Thrust
- 30 mN min · datasheet p.2 75 mN min · qualified for BepiColombo | 230 mN max | 145 mN max · qualified for BepiColombo | 75–145 mN BepiColombo qualification range +1
- Specific impulse
- 4 300 s nom. · Kaufman, nominal beam voltage 1850 V · datasheet p.18 3 650 s BOL, at 150mN | 4 250 s BOL, at 70mN | 4 300 s Kaufman thruster, at 1850V beam voltage, -265V accel voltage | 3 200 s Ring Cusp thruster, at 1000V beam voltage, -1115V accel voltage +1
- Propellant
- xenon datasheet p.2
- Supply voltage
- 100 V nom. · power bus · datasheet p.5 100 V PPU input
- Power consumption
- 4.5 W product page
- Data interface
- MIL-STD-1553 communications · datasheet p.5 MIL-STD-1553 Crisa power supply (IPCU/PPU)
- Thruster technology
- gridded ion Kaufman type gridded ion engine · datasheet p.1
- Feed / tank pressure
- 2.5 bar min · datasheet p.7 3.5 bar max | 2.5–3.5 bar FCU xenon inlet pressure
- Power at thrust
- 5 000 W 5kW T6 ion engine (power class) · datasheet p.2 5 000 W at 145mN thrust | 20 000 W four thrusters, 580mN total thrust | 5 500 W max | 15 000 W three thrusters, 435mN total thrust +1
- Flight heritage
- ESA BepiColombo (launched 2018), AlphaSat TDP#4 product page
- Satellite class
- microsat 10-100 kg BepiColombo mission to Mercury, telecommunication and navigat… · datasheet p.2 GEO station keeping and de-orbiting spacecraft at end of mission | smallsat 100-500 kg BepiColombo mission to Mercury, telecommunication and navigat…
- Power processing unit included
- no datasheet p.2
- Thrust vector control
- gimballed thrust vectoring via pointing mechanisms (EPPM/TPM) · datasheet p.9
- PPU output power
- 5 000 W maximum · datasheet p.2
- Discharge (anode) voltage
- 1 850 V nom. · beam voltage · datasheet p.18
Each value is typed with its unit and measurement condition and cites the datasheet page it was taken from. Nothing is guessed: a field that is absent here has not been published by the manufacturer. machine-extracted ✓ checked by NewSpace Market ✓ manufacturer confirmed by the manufacturer.
As published by the supplier8 lines, in the manufacturer's own wording
- Grid diameter
- 22 cm
- Input power
- 4.5 kW
- Thrust (max)
- 250 mN
- Exhaust velocity
- 50,000 m/s
- Propellant
- Xenon
- Type
- Gridded Kaufman ion thruster
- Flight heritage
- ESA BepiColombo (launched 2018), AlphaSat TDP#4
- Operating temperature
- Tested to −150°C
About
The QinetiQ T6 Ion Thruster is a 22 cm diameter gridded Kaufman-type electric propulsion device described as the world’s most advanced ion thruster. Operating at 4.5 kW input power, it delivers up to 250 mN of thrust — two engines together propelling ESA’s BepiColombo spacecraft to Mercury — with an exhaust velocity of 50,000 m/s, approximately 15 times greater than chemical propulsion.
The T6 was selected for the AlphaSat TDP#4 qualification demonstration and serves as the primary propulsion system for ESA’s BepiColombo Mercury mission launched in October 2018. QinetiQ operates dedicated ion thruster test facilities at Farnborough, UK, including a 1.6 × 3.0 m thruster test chamber capable of simulating the orbital vacuum environment. The T6 uses xenon propellant in a steady-state gridded configuration, providing high specific impulse for interplanetary missions and high-orbit satellite applications.
Documentation
Need the full ICD, test reports or a specific revision? Ask the supplier directly.