Kaara Space runs the first integrated vacuum test of its Hall-effect thruster

Kaara Space, a Hyderabad space technology startup, has completed the first integrated vacuum test of Hall-E, its Hall-effect thruster prototype. The company announced the test on LinkedIn in August, and electronicsforu reported in October that the thruster runs at 550 W, uses argon as propellant and is designed to produce 15 mN of thrust for satellites weighing 200 to 500 kg.

A Hall-effect thruster is a form of electric propulsion. An electric field accelerates ionised gas while a magnetic field traps electrons to keep the gas ionised. The thrust is tiny, but the system uses far less propellant than a chemical rocket, which makes it suited to keeping satellites in orbit, repositioning them and raising their orbits over weeks.

electronicsforu noted that the company has been working on integrating the propellant feed, power processing, magnetic field generation, electron source, thermal management and controls, and that a vacuum test does not by itself establish flight readiness. Kaara Space said in its own post that more testing is needed to show stable, repeatable operation and to measure thrust, efficiency and specific impulse. The Telangana Rising summit account also highlighted the test as an example of Hyderabad's growing space engineering base.