Electra (OHB-Sweden)
Mission
With Electra, OHB develops an advanced electrically powered telecommunications satellite in the sub-three-ton weight class. Such a system has previously not been available commercially in Europe. To date, electric propulsion systems have only been used in research satellites or for orbit maintenance for telecommunications satellites. Artemis, a communications satellite operated by ESA, successfully tested the concept of using solely electric propulsion to achieve a geostationary orbit for the first time. The results showed that electric propulsion systems reduce propellant mass requirements by up to 90 percent compared with chemical propulsion systems. Consequently, it is possible to reduce the launch mass of the satellite by almost half.
