BHT-6000
High power. High Performance.
Taking us to the moon.
Busek is proud to provide BHT-6000 thrusters for the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) as part of NASA’s Artemis program. The PPE is a high-power, 60-kilowatt solar electric propulsion spacecraft built by Maxar Technologies and operated by NASA. It will provide power, high-rate communications, attitude control, and orbital transfer capabilities for the Lunar Gateway and will be the first U.S. electric propulsion system on a human-rated mission.
High-performance and long life Hall thruster designed for mid-to-high power applications.
Busek’s BHT-6000 (2-6kW) Hall effect thruster is the culmination of decades of Hall thruster research and development expertise. This state of the art thruster is optimized for high power all-electric orbit raising, station-keeping, and de-orbit needs. Applications include the Lunar Gateway, GEO communications spacecraft, and solar electric space tugs.
The BHT-6000 features a highly efficient center-mounted cathode design and a unique magnetic field design. The total efficiency (a measure of how well a thruster balances thrust, power consumption, and specific impulse) of the BHT-6000 exceeds 64% at nominal operating conditions. This industry-leading performance makes the BHT-6000 the ideal choice to deliver proven propulsion technology for critical missions.
BHT-6000 Performance
High Thrust Mode
Nominal Discharge Power: 5,000 W
Voltage: 300 V
Thrust: 325 mN
Specific Impulse: 2,029 s
High Impulse Mode
Nominal Discharge Power: 6,000 W
Voltage: 600 V
Thrust: 298 mN
Specific Impulse: 2,708 s
Propellants: Xenon, Krypton, Iodine
Predicted Total Impulse: >8.5 MN-sec
Unique capabilities for a unique mission.
The BHT-6000 will be used for orbit raising and station keeping. With the ability to switch between a high thrust and high impulse mode, a cluster of 4x BHT-6000s and 2x NASA AEPS thrusters will help boost the combined PPE and HALO Module to the Lunar Gateway’s unique NRHO orbit and perform station keeping maneuvers to keep it there.
Publications:
Publications with Busek affiliated authors are marked in bold.
Mullins, C., Hruby, V., Pote, B., Blake, K., Lenguito, G., “Development of a 5kW Class Thruster”, Presented at the 36th International Electric Propulsion Conference, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, September 15-20, 2019.
Herman, D., Gray, T., Johnson, I., Kerl, T., Lee, T., Silva, T., “The Application of Advanced Electric Propulsion on the NASA Power and Propulsion Element (PPE)”, Presented at the 36th International Electric Propulsion Conference, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, September 15-20, 2019.
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