RIT-22 ion thruster
EADS Astrium’s RIT-22 is a 5 kW-class radio-frequency gridded-ion thruster developed for high-specific-impulse station-keeping and deep-space applications. DLR reports up to 200 mN thrust, while ESA records qualification work rather than a flight installation; the RIT-2X child remains a distinct larger-diameter derivative.
Identity
- Aliases
- RIT 22RIT-22 RF ion thruster
- Domains
- spaceflight
- Identity Level
- model
- Kind
- electric-thruster
- Name
- RIT-22 ion thruster
- Status
- development
Details
- Description
- EADS Astrium’s RIT-22 is a 5 kW-class radio-frequency gridded-ion thruster developed for high-specific-impulse station-keeping and deep-space applications. DLR reports up to 200 mN thrust, while ESA records qualification work rather than a flight installation; the RIT-2X child remains a distinct larger-diameter derivative.
- Developers
- Electric Specs
- Input Power Max
- …
- Input Power Min
- …
- Specific Impulse Max
- …
- Specific Impulse Min
- …
- Thrust Max
- …
- Manufacturers
- Propellants
- xenon
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 15, 2026 at 02:44:38 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 21, 2026 at 11:08:52 UTC
Other
- Sources
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-21
- Note
- ESA's propulsion comparison identifies EADS RIT-22 as a 5,000 W ion engine with 2,500-6,500 s specific impulse and qualification in progress with national and ESA funding for possible BepiColombo use.
- Publisher
- European Space Agency
- Title
- Propulsion Telecommunication Days
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-21
- Note
- JPL's flight-thruster reference describes Astrium's RIT-22 as a 200 mN-class RF ion thruster under development for station-keeping applications.
- Publisher
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Title
- Flight Ion and Hall Thrusters
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-21
- Note
- DLR identifies the RIT 22 as a 5-kW-class radio-frequency ion thruster capable of providing up to 200 mN thrust for orbit-transfer maneuvers; the value is normalized to 0.2 N.
- Publisher
- German Aerospace Center (DLR)
- Title
- Airbus tests high-performance ion propulsion in DLR space chamber