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XIPS: THE LATEST THRUST -- Extended satellite life, increased payload
capacity, and lower station-keeping fuel requirements are attainable as a
result of a state-of-the-art xenon ion propulsion system available for the
first time ever on a commercial communications satellite. The system,
known as XIPS, (pronounced "zips"), is available on the HS 601HP and HS 702
satellite models built by Hughes Space and Communications Company. The
PAS-5 satellite, an HS 601HP built for PanAmSat Corporation and launched
Aug. 27, is the first commercial communications satellite to use XIPS.
Ions ejected by XIPS travel in an invisible stream at a speed of 62,900
miles per hour (30 kilometers per second), an increase in specific impulse
which is more than 10 times that of its chemical counterpart. Shown here,
aided by special lighting, is an ion thrust beam from the first
13-centimeter XIPS qualification thruster. Built in 1995, this XIPS
thruster recently completed 8,000 hours of lifetime testing at Hughes in a
massive 9-foot-diameter vacuum chamber.
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| HUGHES SPACE AND COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY Communications and Customer Relations P.O. Box 92919 (S10/S323) Los Angeles, CA 90009 (310) 364-6363 www.hughespace.com |
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