Editing Hall-effect thruster (section)

== History ==
Hall thrusters were studied independently in the United States and the [[Soviet Union]].  They were first described publicly in the US in the early 1960s.<ref>{{cite conference|first1 = G.|first2 = J.|first3 = T.|last1 = Janes|last2 = Dotson|last3 = Wilson|title = Momentum transfer through magnetic fields|conference = Proceedings of third symposium on advanced propulsion concepts|volume = 2|date = 1962|location = Cincinnati, Ohio|pages = 153–175}}</ref><ref name="Janes">{{cite conference|first1 = R. G.|last1 = Meyerand|title = Momentum Transfer Through the Electric Fields|conference = Proceedings of Third Symposium on Advanced Propulsion Concepts|volume = 1|date = 1962|pages = 177–190|location = Cincinnati, Ohio}}</ref><ref name="Seikel">{{cite conference|first1 = G. R.|last1 = Seikel|title = Generation of Thrust – Electromagnetic Thrusters|conference = Proceedings of the NASA-University Conference on the Science and Technology of Space Exploration|volume = 2|date = 1962|pages = 171–176|location = Chicago, Illinois|url = https://archive.org/stream/nasa_techdoc_19630001628/19630001628}}</ref> However, the Hall thruster was first developed into an efficient propulsion device in the Soviet Union.  In the US, scientists focused on developing [[gridded ion thruster]]s.

=== Soviet designs ===
Two types of Hall thrusters were developed in the Soviet Union:
* thrusters with wide acceleration zone, SPT ({{langx|ru|СПД, стационарный плазменный двигатель}}; {{langx|en|SPT}}, '''Stationary Plasma Thruster''') at [[OKB Fakel|Design Bureau Fakel]]
* thrusters with narrow acceleration zone, DAS ({{langx|ru|ДАС, двигатель с анодным слоем}}; {{langx|en|TAL}}, Thruster with Anode Layer), at the [[TsNIIMash|Central Research Institute for Machine Building]] (TsNIIMASH).

[[File:Russian stationary plasma thrusters.jpg|thumb|right|Soviet and Russian SPT thrusters]]
The SPT design was largely the work of A. I. Morozov.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fluid.ippt.gov.pl/sbarral/hall.html|title=Hall thrusters|date=14 January 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040228215222/http://fluid.ippt.gov.pl/sbarral/hall.html|archive-date=28 February 2004 }}</ref><ref name="Morozov_PPR">{{Cite journal|title = The conceptual development of stationary plasma thrusters|last = Morozov|first = A.I.|date = March 2003|journal = Plasma Physics Reports|doi = 10.1134/1.1561119|pages = 235–250|publisher = Nauka/Interperiodica|bibcode = 2003PlPhR..29..235M|issue = 3|volume = 29|s2cid = 122072987}}</ref> The first SPT to operate in space, an SPT-50 aboard a Soviet [[Meteor (satellite)|Meteor spacecraft]], was launched December 1971. They were mainly used for satellite stabilization in north–south and in east–west directions. Since then until the late 1990s 118 SPT engines completed their mission and some 50 continued to be operated. Thrust of the first generation of SPT engines, SPT-50 and SPT-60 was 20 and 30&nbsp;mN respectively. In 1982, the SPT-70 and [[SPT-100]] were introduced, their thrusts being 40 and 83&nbsp;mN, respectively. In the post-Soviet [[Russia]] high-power (a few [[kilowatt]]s) [[SPT-140]], SPT-160, SPT-200, T-160, and low-power (less than 500 W) SPT-35 were introduced.<ref name="NK">{{cite web|url=http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/content/numbers/198/35.shtml|title=Native Electric Propulsion Engines Today|publisher=Novosti Kosmonavtiki|date=1999|issue=7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606033558/http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/content/numbers/198/35.shtml|archive-date=6 June 2011|language=ru}}</ref>

Soviet and Russian TAL-type thrusters include the D-38, D-55, D-80, and D-100.<ref name="NK" />

=== Non-Soviet designs ===
Soviet-built thrusters were introduced to the West in 1992 after a team of electric propulsion specialists from NASA's [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]], [[Glenn Research Center]], and the [[Air Force Research Laboratory]], under the support of the [[Ballistic Missile Defense Organization]], visited Russian laboratories and experimentally evaluated the SPT-100 (i.e., a 100&nbsp;mm diameter SPT thruster).  Hall thrusters continue to be used on Russian spacecraft and have also flown on European and American spacecraft.  [[Space Systems/Loral]], an American commercial satellite manufacturer, now flies Fakel SPT-100's on their GEO communications spacecraft.

Since in the early 1990s, Hall thrusters have been the subject of a large number of research efforts throughout the United States, India, France, Italy, Japan, and Russia (with many smaller efforts scattered in various countries across the globe). Hall thruster research in the US is conducted at several government laboratories, universities and private companies. Government and government funded centers include NASA's [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]], NASA's [[Glenn Research Center]], the [[Air Force Research Laboratory]] (Edwards AFB, California), and [[The Aerospace Corporation]]. Universities include the [[US Air Force Institute of Technology]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.afit.edu/PA/news.cfm?article=101&a=news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222022459/http://www.afit.edu/PA/news.cfm?article=101&a=news |archive-date=22 February 2014 |title=AFIT SPASS Lab Achieves '(AF) Blue Glow' |publisher=Air Force Institute of Technology |date=13 November 2007}}</ref> [[University of Michigan]], [[Stanford University]], [[The Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], [[Princeton University]], [[Michigan Technological University]], and [[Georgia Tech]]. In 2023, students at the [[Olin College of Engineering]] demonstrated the first undergraduate designed steady-state hall thruster.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 December 2023 |title=A year of firsts for electric propulsion |url=https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/year-in-review/a-year-of-firsts-for-electric-propulsion/ |access-date=11 November 2024 |website=Aerospace America |language=en-US}}</ref>  A considerable amount of development is being conducted in industry, such as [[IHI Corporation]] in Japan, [[Aerojet]] and [[Busek]] in the US, [[SNECMA]] in France, [[LAJP]] in Ukraine, [[SITAEL]] in Italy, and [[Satrec Initiative]] in South Korea.
[[File:Orbion Hall Effect Thruster.jpg|left|thumb|Hall-effect thruster module with propellant tank and control unit visible.]]
The first use of Hall thrusters on lunar orbit was the European Space Agency (ESA) lunar mission [[SMART-1]] in 2003.

Hall thrusters were first demonstrated on a western satellite on the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) [[STEX]] spacecraft, which flew the Russian D-55. The first American Hall thruster to fly in space was the [[Busek]] BHT-200 on [[TacSat-2]] technology demonstration spacecraft. The first flight of an American Hall thruster on an operational mission, was the [[Aerojet]] BPT-4000, which launched August 2010 on the military [[Advanced Extremely High Frequency]] GEO communications satellite. At 4.5&nbsp;kW, the BPT-4000 is also the highest power Hall thruster ever flown in space. Besides the usual stationkeeping tasks, the BPT-4000 is also providing orbit-raising capability to the spacecraft. The [[X-37B]] has been used as a testbed for the Hall thruster for the AEHF satellite series.<ref name="ajrdpr20150701">{{cite press release |url=http://www.rocket.com/article/aerojet-rocketdyne%E2%80%99s-modified-xr-5-hall-thruster-demonstrates-successful-orbit-operation |title=Aerojet Rocketdyne's Modified XR-5 Hall Thruster Demonstrates Successful On-Orbit Operation |publisher=Aerojet Rocketdyne |date=1 July 2015 |access-date=11 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709024047/http://www.rocket.com/article/aerojet-rocketdyne%E2%80%99s-modified-xr-5-hall-thruster-demonstrates-successful-orbit-operation |archive-date=9 July 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Several countries worldwide continue efforts to qualify Hall thruster technology for commercial uses. The [[SpaceX]] [[Starlink]] constellation, the largest satellite constellation in the world, uses Hall-effect thrusters. Starlink initially used krypton gas, but with its V2 satellites swapped to argon due to its cheaper price and widespread availability.<ref name="sn-20230228">{{cite web |last=Foust |first=Jeff |date=28 February 2023 |url=https://spacenews.com/spacex-launches-first-upgraded-starlink-satellites/ |title=SpaceX Launches First Upgraded Starlink Satellites |work=[[SpaceNews]] |access-date=5 December 2023 }}</ref>

The first deployment of Hall thrusters beyond Earth's sphere of influence was the [[Psyche (spacecraft)|''Psyche'' spacecraft]], launched in 2023 towards the [[asteroid belt]] to explore [[16 Psyche]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=Briley |date=17 October 2023 |title=NASA's Psyche spacecraft will blaze an unusual blue trail across the solar system |url=https://www.popsci.com/science/nasa-psyche-hall-thrusters/ |website=Popular Science |access-date=17 October 2023 }}</ref>

=== Indian designs ===
Research in India is carried out by both public and private research institutes and companies.

In 2010, [[ISRO]] used Hall-effect ion propulsion thrusters in [[GSAT-4]] carried by [[Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle|GSLV]]-D3. It had four xenon powered thrusters for north-south station keeping. Two of them were Russian and the other two were Indian. The Indian thrusters were rated at 13mN. However, GSLV-D3 did not make it to orbit.

The following year in 2014, ISRO was pursuing development of 75 mN & 250 mN SPT thrusters to be used in its future high power communication satellites. The 75 mN thrusters were put to use aboard the [[South Asia Satellite|GSAT-9]] communication satellite.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2015/nov/30/isro-to-test-electric-propulsion-on-satellites-849997.html|title=ISRO to Test Electric Propulsion on Satellites|website=The New Indian Express|date=30 November 2015 }}</ref>

By 2021 development of a 300 mN thruster was complete. Alongside it, RF-powered 10 kW plasma engines and krypton based low power electric propulsion were being pursued.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

With private firms entering the space domain, [[Bellatrix Aerospace]] became the first commercial firm to bring out commercial Hall-effect thrusters. The current{{When|date=November 2024}} model of the thruster uses xenon as fuel. Tests were carried out at the spacecraft propulsion research laboratory in the [[Indian Institute of Science]], [[Bengaluru]]. Heaterless cathode technology was used to increase the system's lifespan and redundancy. Bellatrix Aerospace had previously developed the first commercially available [[microwave electrothermal thruster]], for which the company received an order from ISRO.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://inc42.com/buzz/bellatrix-aerospace-test-fires-indias-first-commercial-hall-thruster/|title=Spacetech Startup Bellatrix Aerospace Test Fires India's First Privately Built Hall Thruster|first=Kushagr|last=Gautam|date=28 May 2021}}</ref> The ARKA-series of HET was launched on [[PSLV-C55]] mission. It was successfully tested on [[POEM-2]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 April 2023 |title=Space startup Bellatrix to test electric propulsion for satellites on-board PSLV |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/space-startup-bellatrix-to-test-electric-propulsion-for-satellites-on-board-pslv/articleshow/99666830.cms?from=mdr |access-date=17 October 2024 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref>