Use of Gridded Ion Engines for Telecommunications Platforms

The proposal is to assess gridded ion engine capability and solutions to meet the future needs of commercial platform manufacturers. The programme will be led by QinetiQ, who has the system knowledge of gridded ion engines and heritage in the design and implementation of these system for scientific and earth observation satellites. It will be supported by Lockheed Martin, who, as one of the world's leading commercial satellite manufacturers, will provide technical feedback to QinetiQ's proposed solutions in the telecommunication market, and work with QinetiQ to determine a system solution that meets the needs of the next generation of telecoms satellites.