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Electra

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The Electra project is one of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) most significant telecommunications satellite initiatives, representing a major step in Europe’s evolution toward all-electric propulsion technology

Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES)programme in partnership with SES in Luxembourg and OHB SE in Germany, Electra aims to create a new generation of medium-sized geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellites that are lighter, more efficient, and more cost-effective.

This project demonstrates ESA’s strategic approach to public-private collaboration: sharing risk with industry to advance innovation and ensure Europe remains competitive in the fast-changing global satellite communications market.

The origins of Electra

In the early 2010s, ESA and its industrial partners recognised a global trend toward smaller, more flexible satellites that could deliver high-performance communications services while lowering launch and operational costs. Traditionally, large GEO communications satellites relied on chemical propulsion for orbit raising and station keeping, making them heavy, expensive to launch, and limited in flexibility.

Electric propulsion promised a solution. It uses ion or plasma thrusters powered by solar electricity to generate a steady, highly efficient thrust. Although electric orbit raising takes longer, it dramatically reduces fuel mass, allowing for smaller spacecraft, more payload, or lower launch costs.

In 2013, ESA formally approved Electra as a Partnership Project under ARTES, with SES as the anchor customer and OHB as the prime contractor, to develop, qualify, and fly Europe’s first all-electric GEO satellite platform.


Objectives of Electra 


Electra’s central objectives include:

Developing a European all-electric medium-size satellite platform capable of supporting commercial telecommunications payloads of around 300 kg and 3 kW power.
Reducing launch and operational costs through significant mass savings to enable dual launches and lower-cost launchers.
Demonstrating in-orbit performance of electric orbit raising and station keeping.
Boosting industrial capabilities across Europe by fostering technology transfer, component development, and manufacturing expertise.
Establishing European non-dependence in the growing electric satellite market.


By achieving these goals, ESA seeks to ensure Europe’s competitiveness in a market where operators increasingly demand cost-efficient, flexible, and sustainable satellites.


Electra’s technological innovations

All-Electric propulsion
The satellite uses electric thrusters (such as Hall-effect or gridded ion engines) for both orbit raising and station keeping. Although the orbit-raising phase can take several months, the mass savings are transformative, providing an operational lifetime of over 15 years.
Lightweight power subsystem
High-efficiency gallium-arsenide solar arrays generate up to 3 kW of power for the payload and propulsion system.
Compact structure
Modular mechanical architecture derived from SmallGEO ensures compatibility with various payloads, offering flexible mission configurations for telecom operators.
Advanced avionics and autonomy
The platform incorporates intelligent onboard management systems to handle long-duration electric orbit raising autonomously.
High reliability and reduced cost

By reducing the need for heavy chemical propellants and simplifying mechanical systems, Electra offers lower launch mass, reduced costs, and improved environmental sustainability.


Industrial partners 

Supported by ESA, Electra brings together a network of European industrial partners, with OHB SE as the prime contractor responsible for the satellite platform, known as the SmallGEO bus, and SES as the commercial partner and operator.

OHB SE developed the all-electric variant of the SmallGEO platform, integrating new propulsion and power systems tailored for long-duration electric orbit raising.

SES, one of the world’s leading commercial satellite operators, provided mission requirements, payload integration support, and the operational perspective for the first Electra satellite.

Other European contributors include ArianeGroup (propulsion subsystem elements); OHB Sweden (electric propulsion thruster integration), RUAG Space (mechanical structures and antenna supports) and Airbus Defence and Space (payload and system-engineering expertise).


The SmallGEO heritage

Electra builds upon ESA’s SmallGEO platform, itself developed under the legacy ARTES programme with the first flight – HispaSat 36W-1 – launched in January 2017. SmallGEO was designed as a modular, medium-size GEO platform with flexible payload accommodation for different missions.

Electra extends this heritage by replacing the chemical propulsion system with an all-electric one, drastically reducing the satellite’s launch mass from around 3.2 tonnes to about 1.8 tonnes while maintaining similar payload capacity.

This approach allows the Electra spacecraft to share a launch vehicle with other satellites, reducing launch costs, and offering operators a green propulsion alternative with no toxic propellants.

RELATED LINKS & CONTACS

CONTACT

Michael Witting


ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC)

Keplerlaan 1

2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands

+31 625158619

Michael.Witting@esa.int

Documents

Overview page

Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES)

Overview page