By 
September 28th, 2025
Image credit: Keldysh Center
Russia is showcasing high-power plasma engines designed for deep space missions. They can be used for interorbital cargo transportation as well as support expeditions to the Moon and Mars and distant objects in the Solar System.
The engines, developed by the Keldysh Center (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation), are on display for the first time at the International Atomic Week now being held in Moscow from September 25 to 28.
The KM-50M and ID-750 high-power plasma thrusters have been developed jointly with the Russian Federation’s TRINITI (part of the Rosatom State Corporation).
KM-50M thruster details
According to the Keldysh Center, the first prototype, the KM-50M Hall effect thruster, was developed using state-of-the-art magnetic shielding technology, ensuring an operational life of over 20,000 hours.
KM-50M has a power output of 50 kW and produces a thrust of 1.5 N and a specific impulse of 3800 s with xenon, and a thrust of 1.6 Newtons and a specific impulse of 4200 seconds with krypton.
The Keldysh Center’s high-power plasma engines are on display for the first time at the International Atomic Week.
Image credit: Keldysh Center
In 2024, the KM-50M engine successfully completed firing tests in the Keldysh Center’s vacuum chamber, including thruster configuration of a four-engine module, confirming its readiness for cluster deployment.
ID-750 ion engine details
The second prototype, the ID-750 ion engine, demonstrates offers a power output of 80 kilowatts. The plasma exhaust velocity — depending on the propellant — ranges from 80 to 100 kilometers per second.
Use of carbon-carbon composites as the material for the ion acceleration system ensures an engine service life of over 50,000 hours.
The Keldysh Center reports that tests of a module of three such engines have demonstrated their stable and reliable operation in conditions as close to those found in space as possible.
Artwork depics an interplanetary tug for deep space missions.
Image credit: Keldysh Center
Electric rocket technology
Both engines operate on xenon and krypton, inert gases ideal for long-term storage and operation in space.
The Keldysh Center’s general director, Vladimir Koshlakov, states that these systems could form the basis for interorbital transport systems of the future.
“We see them as a key solution for delivering cargo and expeditions to lunar orbit, Mars, and even the outer planets of the Solar System,” Koshlakov explains. “Russia has traditionally remained a leader in electric rocket technology, and these new models confirm this status.”
The Keldysh Research Center has developed and produced a series of electric propulsion thrusters of different typical size, a wide range of power and higher specific impulse used in the assembly of space vehicles designed for different purposes.
Image credit: Keldysh Center
Posted in Space News
