Electric propulsion hot-fire videos are surprisingly difficult to find, especially in-space footage, and many are at risk of being lost over time. This archive was created to preserve and bring them together in one place.
Enjoy the glow!
If you know of a thruster that is missing from this archive and there is a video of it, please submit it here.
JW-200 Hall Effect Thruster (Hongqing Technology)
On-orbit ignition video of the JW-200 hall thruster on the Honghu satellite. (2x speed)
Propellant: krypton
SPT-70 Hall Effect Thruster (EKB Fakel)
On-orbit ignition video of two SPT-70 hall thrusters on the EgyptSat A satellite.
Propellant: xenon
SPS 25 Hall Effect Thruster (SETS)
On-orbit video of the SPS 25 hall thruster on the EOS SAT-1 satellite.
Spaceware Micro Hall Effect Thrusters (EXOTRAIL)
On-orbit video of two Spaceware micro thrusters on the spacevan-001 satellite.
Propellant: xenon
AEPS Hall Effect Thruster (NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne)
Ignition of the Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) hall thruster in a vacuum chamber at NASA Glenn’s Electric Propulsion and Power Laboratory, USA.
Propellant: xenon
GAUSS Hall Effect Thruster (Rocket Lab)
Ignition of the GAUSS hall thruster in a vacuum chamber at Rocket Lab in Auckland, NZ.
Propellant: xenon
X3 Nested Channel Hall Effect Thruster (PEPL, AFRL, NASA GRC, NASA JPL)
Ignition of the X3 nested channel hall effect thruster in a vacuum chamber.
PPS-1350 Hall Effect Thruster (Safran)
Ignition of the PPS-1350 hall effect thruster in a vacuum chamber during a satellite integration test by Astranis Space Technologies.
Propellant: xenon
Astra Spacecraft Engine Hall Effect Thruster (Astra)
Ignition of the Astra Spacecraft Engine Hall Thruster in a vacuum chamber.
Hall Effect Thruster (NASA GRC)
Firing of a hall effect thruster in a vacuum chamber at NASA Glenn Research Center.
Argon Hall Effect Thruster (SpaceX)
Ignition of a hall effect thruster in a vacuum chamber at SpaceX in Seattle, USA.
Propellant: argon
Krypton Hall Effect Thruster (Amazon Leo)
Firing of a hall effect thruster in a vacuum chamber at Amazon Leo in Seattle, USA.
Propellant: krypton
Hall Effect Thruster (Apex, Phase Four, NASA JPL)
Ignition of a hall effect thruster in a vacuum chamber at Apex in Los Angeles, USA.
Apex acquired Phase Four’s hall effect thruster technology in 2025. Phase Four’s Valkyrie hall effect thruster was based on NASA’s H71M-PM hall thruster. paper
MESSE Hall Effect Thruster (Aliena Pte Ltd)
Ignition of the MESSE hall effect thruster in a vacuum chamber at Aliena Pte Ltd in Singapore.
Propellant: xenon
Leo Bear Hall Effect Thruster (Pulsar Fusion)
Ignition of the Leo Bear hall effect thruster in a vacuum chamber.
KLIMT Hall Effect Thruster (IPPLM)
Ignition of the KLIMT hall effect thruster in a vacuum chamber at the European Space Research and Technology Centre.
Propellant: krypton
Cylindrical Hall Thruster (University of Toronto)
Ignition of a Cylindrical Hall Thruster in a vacuum chamber at the University of Toronto, Canada. (4x speed)
Aurora Hall Effect Thruster (ORBION)
Firing of the Aurora hall thruster in a vacuum chamber. Using a feature called El Matador which produces a vivid effect.
H9 Hall Effect Thruster (PEPL, AFRL, NASA JPL)
Firing of the H9 Hall Thruster in a vacuum chamber at the University of Michigan, USA.
External Discharge Plasma Thruster (University of Surrey)
Ignition of an external discharge plasma thruster in a vacuum chamber at the University of Surrey, UK.
Propellant: xenon
ISCT-100 Hall Effect Thruster (ICARE - CNRS)
Ignition of a hall effect thruster in a vacuum chamber.
MaSMi 40 Hall Effect Thruster (UCLA, NASA JPL)
Firing of the MaSMi 40 Hall Thruster in a vacuum chamber.
Hall Effect Thruster (Pulsar Fusion)
Ignition of a hall effect thruster in a vacuum chamber.
Propellant: krypton
Hall Effect Thruster (Washington State University)
Ignition of a hall effect thruster in a vacuum chamber at NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Center.
Propellant: xenon
KM 50M Hall Effect Thruster (Keldysh Research Center)
Firing of the KM 50M hall thruster in a vacuum chamber at the Keldysh Research Center, Russia.
AURA Radio Frequency Gridded Ion Thruster (NewOrbit)
Ignition of the AURA RF gridded ion thruster in a vacuum chamber at NewOrbit in Reading, UK.
Propellant: air
RIT-2X Radio Frequency Gridded Ion Thruster (ArianeGroup)
Ignition of the RIT-2X RF gridded ion thruster in a vacuum chamber at Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
Propellant: xenon
Radio Frequency Gridded Ion Thruster (Orbitt Space)
Ignition of a RF gridded ion thruster in a vacuum chamber.
NPT30-I2 Gridded Ion Thrusters (ThrustMe)
Ignition of four NPT30-I2 gridded ion thrusters in a vacuum chamber.
Propellant: iodine
T6 Gridded Ion Thruster (QinetiQ)
Ignition of the T6 Gridded Ion Thruster in a vacuum chamber.
Gimble Test of Four T6 Gridded Ion Thrusters (QinetiQ)
Gimble Test of Four T6 Gridded Ion Thrusters on BepiColombo’s Mercury Transfer Module. (20x speed)
VASIMR VX-200 (Ad Astra Rocket Company)
Firing of VASIMR VX-200 in a vacuum chamber.
Rotating Magnetic Field Thruster (PEPL)
High-speed video of a Rotating Magnetic Field Thruster in a vacuum chamber at the University of Michigan, USA.
ECR Magnetic Nozzle Thruster (University of Michigan)
Ignition of an ECR Magnetic Nozzle Thruster in a vacuum chamber at the University of Michigan, USA.
XJET ECR Thruster (URA Thrusters)
Ignition of the XJET electron cyclotron resonance magnetic nozzle thruster in a vacuum chamber.
Propellant: xenon
ECR Magnetic Nozzle Thruster (University of Surrey)
Ignition of an ECR magnetic nozzle thruster in a vacuum chamber at the University of Surrey, UK.
Propellant: xenon
ECR Magnetic Nozzle Thruster (ONERA)
Ignition of an ECR Magnetic Nozzle Thruster in a vacuum chamber at ONERA, France.
Propellant: xenon
ECR Magnetic Nozzle Thruster (University of Washington)
Firing of an ECR Magnetic Nozzle Thruster in a vacuum chamber.
Advanced Cusp Field Thruster (iFACT)
Firing of the Advanced Cusp Field Thruster (ACFT) in a vacuum chamber.
Propellant: iodine (yellow plasma), xenon (blue plasma)
Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster (NASA JPL)
Ignition of a MPD thruster in a vacuum chamber at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Propellant: lithium
ATHENA-π Electrospray Thruster (IENAI SPACE)
Ignition of the ATHENA-π electrospray thruster in a vacuum chamber. Note that electrospray thrusters do not usually emit any light, on this occasion the vacuum pressure was high enough that the ion jet excited the remaining air in the vacuum chamber.
Propellant: ionic-liquid
ALPS Vacuum Arc Thruster (University of Southampton)
Firing of the ALPS vacuum arc thruster in a vacuum chamber at Magdrive in Harwell, UK.
Radio-Frequency Electrothermal Thruster (York University)
Ignition of a RF electrothermal thruster in a vacuum chamber.
Propellant: neon
AIS-VAT2 Vacuum Arc Thruster (AIS)
Ignition of the AIS-VAT2 Vacuum Arc Thruster in a vacuum chamber.
Propellant: bismuth
This archive is maintained for educational, historical, and archival purposes related to electric propulsion testing. All media remains the property of its respective owners. Source attribution is provided where possible, and no ownership of third-party material is claimed.
If you are a rights holder and would like material removed or corrected, please get in touch.