Displaying items by tag: vacuum

Alta is a leading European small company in the aerospace propulsion sector. We operate in research and development on space electric propulsion, chemical propulsion andaerothermodynamics. Our company provides testing services, high vacuum systems and facilities and space systems design and computational simulation tools. With a successful record of technology transfer cases, we are also active in the energy and industrial plasma sectors.

With propulsion systems suited to a variety of missions - from interplanetary probes to low-cost microsatellites - Alta covers the broadest EP technology range among European companies. Alta’s researchers and engineers make up the largest and most experienced European R&D team working on EP, with know-how and capability in all EP application fields.

• Hall Effect Thrusters
• MagnetoPlasmaDynamic Propulsion (MPD)
• Field Emission Electric Propulsion (FEEP)
• Resistojet Propulsion
• Diagnostics for Electric Propulsion

Alta’s excellence in Electric Propulsion (EP) technologies is demonstrated by a long record of achievements:

• 1974: first European Pulsed Plasma Thruster
• 1980: first European quasi-steady Magneto-Plasma-Dynamic Thruster
• 1994: first European Hall Effect Thruster
• 1999: first integrated FEEP micro-thruster
• 2001: first European high power Hall Effect Thruster
• 2004: first European miniaturized Hall Effect Thruster
• 2005: largest European electric propulsion testing facility