Snecma Receives Follow-on Contract from Airbus for All-Electric Thrusters

Arnaud de Rosnay, head of telecommunications satellites at Airbus Defence and Space, and Jacques Pasquier, Snecma VP, Space Engines division. Photo: Snecma

[Via Satellite 03-25-2015] Airbus Defence and Space has reselected Snecma to provide thrusters for the Eurostar E3000 Electric Orbit Raising (EOR) platform. The contract, signed this month, follows an original collaboration agreement from March 2014 for the 5-kilowatt PPS5000 thruster.

According to Snecma, the PPS5000 thrusters reduce the launch weight of an all-electric satellite in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) by 40 percent. Operators can alternatively use this extra space to increase a satellite’s payload size. Airbus Defence and Space is to receive the thrusters during the fourth quarter of 2016.