Consortium

ONERA

ONERA is a public, scientific and technical establishment with both industrial and commercial responsibilities. Its mission is to direct and conduct aeronautical and aerospace research, to construct and operate experimental facilities, and to supply industry with high-level technical studies. The research carried out at ONERA results in computation codes, methods, technologies and other products which are used in aerospace industry.

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) is a public university with around 20000 students, characterized by its strong international focus, the quality of its faculty, excellence in research and commitment to society. Founded in 1989, its achievements have already placed it among the top universities in Spain. UC3M was one of the top-five Spanish universities selected in 2009 as a Campus of International Excellence, a four-year project awarded by the Ministries of Science and Innovation and Education.

Thales Group

Thales Group is present in in civil and military market with a balanced revenue between these 2 activities. Thales has 62,000 employees, in 56 countries, in 5 activities: aerospace, space, ground transportation, defence and security.

JLU

JLU is a modern comprehensive university at Giessen which can take pride in some four centuries of past achievement. It comprises 11 faculties with a large spectrum of disciplines. JLU has a long-standing tradition of physics starting in 1838 with 3 Nobel laureates having worked at the department. The Institute of Experimental Physics I (IPI) of JLU is the birth place of RIT technology and one of the research foci still is on electric propulsion.

Thales Alenia Space group

As Power Lead Center inside the Thales Alenia Space group, Thales Alenia Space BELGIUM is the European number one in power conditioning and distribution equipment for any type of satellites. Thales Alenia Space BELGIUM is a Belgian industrial establishment with over 650 employees, 35,000 square meters of which 6,000 square meters of cleanrooms. The 2014 turnover was above 70 M€. The company has more than 50 years of expertise in space and telecommunications, with, among other for this project, design skills in power elements, digital signal processing, and ASICs.

SAFRAN

A leading rocket engine manufacturer and plasma propulsion leader in Europe, Safran Aircraft Engines (formerly Snecma) design, develop, produce and sell, alone or in partnership, a wide range of thrusters and propulsion systems for nearly all satellite applications, from orbit raising, orbital positioning to deorbiting. 

Safran Aircraft Engines is working on electric propulsion since the late 70’s on various technologies (including FEEP, arcjet) and since the early 90’s on the Hall Effect Thrusters, resulting in the qualification of the PPS1350 (1500W) in 2006, thruster in operation on Alphasat since 2013. 

To meet growing market demand – by 2022, 25% of satellites will be all-electric – Safran Aircraft Engines has developed a new 5kW thruster designed for new-generation satellites, already chosen by Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence & Space. 

To maintain its technological leadership in electric propulsion technology and support commercial missions and scientific exploration, Safran Aircraft Engines continuously invest in R&D, from PPS500 (500W) up to PPS20k (20kW), and carry out a number of advanced design studies for the French and European space agencies. 

Within the space electric propulsion Directorate, in Vernon plant-France, almost 70 skilled scientists, engineers and workers form an highly integrated team using the latest numerical and lean methodologies to conceptualize, design, manufacture, test and sell Hall Effect electric propulsion systems.

L-UP

L-up is an SME company, founded in 2001 by Philippe Bellier and currently employing eight people. L-up has experts with fifteen to twenty years of experience in industry and R&D, especially in high-tech fields such as health, communication, advanced materials and aeronautics. L-up employs also project managers with a minimum of five years’ experience in European project management.