Russian Scientists Unveil Space Engine That Swaps Pricey Xenon for Budget-Friendly Krypton
/ Go to the mediabankThe Soyuz-2.1a rocket equipped with a Fregat upper stage and carrying the Kondor-FKA No.2 radar satellite blasts off the Vostochny Cosmodrome, in Amur region, Russia.
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The new plasma thruster will slash the cost of building massive satellite constellations.Specialists from the Moscow Aviation Institute and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology developed the engineKrypton is 5–10x less expensive than xenon and available in much larger volumesDesigned for at least 7 years of service life in orbit, with 7,500+ hours of total thrust and multiple restart capabilityThe shift to krypton was driven by the need for affordable propulsion as Russia scales up multi‑satellite projects like the Sfera communication systemAs constellations grow from dozens to thousands of satellites, driving down propellant costs by 80–90% could be the key to making such projects economically viable.
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