UAE asteroid mission validates 5kW Hall-thruster architecture

(SpaceEnergy) Engineers have validated a solar-electric propulsion architecture for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, integrating two 5kW Hall-effect thrusters with a novel dual-pressure xenon feed system.

The United Arab Emirates Space Agency mission, scheduled for launch in 2028, requires more than 10km/s of total delta-v during an eight-year tour of seven main-belt asteroids extending to 3astronomical units from the Sun.

Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, the Technology Innovation Institute, the UAE Space Agency and Safran Spacecraft Propulsion selected two Safran PPS5000 Hall-effect thrusters, a single power-processing unit and xenon flow controllers.

The PPS5000 qualification programme demonstrated 17.24MN·s cumulative impulse per thruster and operation across approximately 0.3kW–5kW. The mission architecture adds a dual-pressure xenon regulation strategy intended to maintain flow control across the extended throttle range while remaining inside existing hardware qualification limits.

System-level coupled testing confirmed compatibility between the power-processing unit, xenon flow controllers and Hall thrusters across the required operating range and electrical-current environments, according to the newly published research.