Propulsion system of USA AEHF military communication satellite and its application on AEHF-1 satellite

Four GEO AEHF military communication satellites will be employed in USA AEHF program.The propulsion system of AEHF satellite consists of apogee engine,attitude control engine assembly and dual-mode Hall electric propulsion subsystem.The first AEHF satellite,AEHF-1,is the first GEO satellite with Hall electric propulsion system for orbit raising after liftoff.Because of the malfunction of the apogee engine on AEHF-1 after the propulsion rocket was separated from AEHF -1,the other two propulsion subsystems were used for orbit raising,while Hall electric propulsion system started in advance to maintain the satellite life.AEHF program,AEHF satellite and its propulsion system,and the propulsion system application of AEHF-1 satellite is introduced,so as to provide a reference for using dual-mode Hall electric propulsion system for orbit raising and in-orbit position keeping of Chinese GEO satellites.