Electric Propulsion: Hall Thrusters and Their Makers
Who makes the thrusters that move constellation satellites, and is thruster supply a constraint?
Chapter summary
most new low-orbit satellites use electric propulsion, usually Hall-effect thrusters, to raise orbit after launch, hold position against drag, avoid collisions and de-orbit at end of life.
Key takeaways
- 1
A single thruster is a modest part, but constellations need thousands a year and merchant supply is spread across a few specialists in the US, Europe and Israel, plus start-ups.
- 2
SpaceX builds its own.
- 3
Supply is tight but expanding, and the more serious constraint is the propellant, xenon (Chapter 17).
Keep reading with Space access
This chapter (1 exhibits, 737 words) is part of Space & aerospace. Space access opens every chapter of all 11 Space reports, with the interactive models, Excel downloads, Ask and named Atlas records.
- Global Market Analysis: Deep Space Economy
- Space-Based Datacenters: Feasibility Study
- Commercial Space Stations: Feasibility Study
- Defence Space and Missile Defence: Golden Dome and the SDA Architecture
- Launch After Starship: Prices, Capacity and European Sovereign Launch, 2026–2035
- Satellites to Phones: Direct-to-Device Connectivity, Spectrum and Economics, 2026–2035
- Space Supply Chain Bottlenecks: Components, Minerals and Capacity, 2026–2030
- Lunar, Cislunar and Settlement Economics: What the Moon Costs and Who Pays, 2026–2060
- Earth Observation and AI Analytics: What a Square Kilometre Is Worth and Who Captures It, 2026–2035
- In-Space Manufacturing and Microgravity Biotech: Products, Platforms and Economics, 2026–2035
- Space-Based Solar Power: Physics, Costs and the Path to Firm Power from Orbit, 2026–2050
€199 a month or €1,490 a year per sector, after a 7-day free trial. Cancel any time. Need several sectors? All sectors: €999 a month.
Case Study: How Optical Terminals Delayed a Defence Constellation
Next →Propellants for Electric Propulsion: Xenon, Krypton, Argon and Iodine
Check the live record Space Contracts & Tender Radar · Constellation Deployment Monitor · Space Claim Check (free)
Ask about this chapter
Answers drawn from every Setcoin report and the live Atlas. Each statement links to the passage behind it.
Ask is included with every subscription
Cited answers across every report and the Atlas, with follow-up questions and a hand-off to the opportunity finder.
Research for professional investors. Not investment advice, and not an offer of any security or fund interest.