QinetiQ T6

QinetiQ’s T6 is a 22 cm xenon gridded-ion thruster scaled from the T5 for the greater thrust and lifetime requirements of BepiColombo. The Mercury Transfer Module carried four T6 engines, operated singly or in pairs, with gimbals that steered thrust through the changing spacecraft centre of mass. Separate power processors regulated thruster voltages and currents and controlled xenon flow. ESA reports that this flight installation permanently completed its final solar-electric thrust arc on 15 June 2026. That mission event concerns the flown engines; the later T6 Mk4 commercial-development variant has its own record.