SETS Lands Major Contract for ST-25 Hall Thruster Deliveries

Space Electric Thruster Systems (SETS), a Ukrainian-based company, has announced a contract to supply its ST-25 Hall Thrusters to EPS Tech in South Korea. Under this agreement, SETS is set to deliver two ST-25 Hall Thrusters to EPS Tech in the upcoming months.

Ukrainian Space Tech Resilience

The ST-25 Hall Thrusters play a vital role in the SPS-25 electric propulsion system. These thrusters were successfully tested in orbit in 2023 and were incorporated in the EOSAT-1 satellite, which is the initial satellite in a future constellation developed by EOS Data Analytics (EOSDA) and Dragonfly Aerospace. This constellation is aimed at monitoring agriculture and land cover.

The ST-25 is a compact Hall-effect thruster (HET) known for its low power consumption, ranging between 100 and 250 W. It is designed to maintain a satellite in its designated orbit throughout its operational life and to assist in controlled deorbits after the mission ends. A notable feature of the ST-25 thruster is the inclusion of a permanent magnet in the central core, which decreases both the overall power consumption and the physical size of the thruster.

CEO’s Statement

SETS CEO Viktor Serbin expressed his confidence in the company’s capabilities: 

“With SETS propulsion systems having undergone rigorous testing and already proven to work on spacecraft in orbit, we are seeing growing demand for our products. This contract clearly demonstrates that our company is a trusted producer of ready-made solutions tailored to our customers’ specific needs.”

Future Prospects

Serbin also pointed out the potential for expanded collaboration with EPS Tech to provide additional systems and address the increasing market demand for electric propulsion. 

“Our products help address important global challenges like space debris. We recognize the urgency of this problem and offer a product line that aligns perfectly with the dominant trend of low earth orbit (LEO) mega-constellations and high-resolution remote sensing satellites,” he added.