Satellites and subsystems > Orbit determination and control > Satellite and CubeSat thrusters > Astra Spacecraft Engine (ASE)
Key highlights
The Astra Spacecraft Engine (ASE) is a Hall-effect thruster propulsion system compatible with xenon and krypton propellants.
The ASE PPU provides power and control to the ASE thruster, valves, regulator, and pressure transducers. Astra provides xenon/krypton propellant feed systems with flight heritage.
Astra has baselined a Xenon/Krypton PSMA with a single string bang-bang regulator with orifice flow split for cathode, anode, and ignition flow.
This PSMA consists of a Propellant Management Assembly (PMA), a Xenon Flow Control (XFC), and a carbon-overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) for propellant storage.
Astra has teamed up with an established space hardware manufacturer for heritage xenon/krypton propellant tanks.
Key features
- Heater-less, center-mounted, instant-start cathode
- Novel magnetic lensing and magnetic circuit
- Advanced high-temperature materials
- 95% efficient single-board PPU
- Designed for multi-thruster operation
- Thruster can operate between 300 W and 500 W to PPU (System optimized for 400 W operation)
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Last updated: 2023-01-02
Astra Spacecraft Engine (ASE)
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