---
title: "Spacecraft electric propulsion"
chunk: 3/4
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecraft_electric_propulsion"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:55:41.016044+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

SMART-1, launched in 2003, demonstrated solar electric primary propulsion in flight for ESA and carried the Hall thruster system that had been developed from late-1990s European work on commercial electric-propulsion applications and deep-space mission preparation.
While electric-propulsion research and deployment continued, new systems were also launched into space. Hayabusa was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in 2003, propelled by electrodeless plasma thruster technology. By 2012, more than 270 Hall-effect SPT units had operated on over 60 Russian spacecraft. NASA's Dawn became the first spacecraft to orbit an object in the main asteroid belt at Vesta in 2011, and the first to orbit a dwarf planet at Ceres in 2015. Its ion propulsion system made Dawn the only spacecraft ever to orbit two extraterrestrial destinations. ESA's GOCE in 2009 and JAXA's Super Low Altitude Test Satellite "TSUBAME" (2017-2019) marked later electric-propulsion milestones by demonstrating continuous drag compensation and ion-engine-supported super-low-altitude operations in very low Earth orbit.
ESA and JAXA's BepiColombo, launched in 2018, marked a later major milestone in solar electric propulsion when its Solar Electric Propulsion System began in-flight commissioning in November 2018, in what ESA described as the first in-flight operation of the most powerful and highest-performance electric propulsion system flown on any space mission to date.
In November 2023, Psyche became the first spacecraft to use Hall effect thrusters in interplanetary space, beyond the Earth-Moon system. The spacecraft  uses its electric thrusters for both primary propulsion and momentum control and carries no chemical propulsion system. It is scheduled to enter orbit around the asteroid (16) Psyche in 2029.

== Definitions ==

Spacecraft electric propulsion is generally classified by how electrical energy is used to accelerate propellant: electrothermal systems heat propellant before expansion, electrostatic systems accelerate ions through electric fields, and electromagnetic systems accelerate plasma through the interaction of electric currents and magnetic fields. Over time, the boundaries between these classes have sometimes been drawn differently in surveys and program literature, especially for devices that combine more than one acceleration mechanism.
Within electric and electromagnetic propulsion, thrust is generated by accelerating and expelling propellant using electric or magnetic fields rather than by coupling to an external environment. Examples include electrostatic ion engines, Hall-effect thrusters, pulsed plasma thrusters, magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters, pulsed inductive thrusters, electrothermal thrusters, and radio-frequency or electron-cyclotron-resonance ion engines.
Conservation of momentum remains a fundamental requirement because these systems close momentum through exhaust rather than through external fields or media.

== Types ==

A wide range of electric propulsion methods have been proposed or demonstrated. Spacecraft electric propulsion is commonly grouped into electrothermal, electrostatic, and electromagnetic systems according to how electrical energy is used to heat, ionize, and accelerate propellant. Electric propulsion is most useful in missions where propellant efficiency matters more than rapid acceleration. In practice it has been used for geostationary station-keeping, orbit raising, deep-space probes, precision attitude and position control, and drag compensation in Earth orbit. These advantages come with operational tradeoffs: low-thrust transfers can require longer maneuver times and, in some cases, higher total delta-v than impulsive chemical maneuvers, so combined chemical-electric mission profiles remain common when transfer time is constrained.

=== Demonstrated ===
Various electric and electromagnetic propulsion approaches and systems have achieved experimental validation, flight heritage, or sustained engineering development.

==== Electric and electromagnetic with carried propellant ====