OKB Fakel

OKB Fakel
Name	Fakel
Native name	Факел
Founded	1955
Founder	Anatoly Yunitsky
Headquarters	Khimki, Moscow Oblast
Industry	Aerospace, Defense
Products	Rocket engines, Electric propulsion, Thrusters
Parent	NPO Energomash (historical associations)

OKB Fakel

OKB Fakel is a Russian design bureau specializing in electric propulsion, plasma thrusters, and rocket propulsion systems. Founded in the mid-20th century, Fakel contributed to Soviet and Russian programs including satellite platforms, interplanetary probes, and ballistic missile systems, working alongside organizations such as Lavochkin Association, TsSKB-Progress, NPO Lavochkin, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, and RSC Energia. Fakel has collaborated with institutions like Moscow Aviation Institute, Moscow State University, Keldysh Research Center, and agencies such as Roscosmos and the former Soviet space program.

History

Fakel traces its origins to postwar Soviet aerospace consolidation involving figures like Sergey Korolev, Valentin Glushko, and institutes such as OKB-1, NII-88, and TsAGI. During the 1950s and 1960s Fakel worked on projects connected to programs led by Ministry of General Machine-Building (USSR), Soyuz (spacecraft), Luna programme, and Vostok programme, coordinating with bureaus such as OKB-52 and OKB-154. In the 1970s and 1980s Fakel expanded electric propulsion efforts influenced by research at IKI (Space Research Institute), Institute of Applied Mathematics (RAS), and Institute of Thermal Physics (Siberian Branch of RAS). After the Soviet collapse Fakel engaged with entities including Rostec, Rosoboronexport, Gazprom Space Systems, and Russian Academy of Sciences to sustain activity. Recent history features interaction with commercial firms like ISS Reshetnev, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, S7 Space, and international partners such as European Space Agency, CNES, and NASA in technology transfer and export negotiations.

Products and Technologies

Fakel designs xenon and krypton electric thrusters, Hall-effect thrusters, and plasma engines used on platforms built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin. Its product line has included stationary plasma thrusters applied on satellites from Intelsat, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, Iridium Communications, and Ekspress series. Fakel-developed propulsion systems integrate with avionics made by Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (SAAB), Honeywell Aerospace, and Collins Aerospace on spacecraft bus architectures like bus 702, Eurostar (spacecraft), Express (satellite series), and Yamal (satellite constellation). Technologies include magnetic shielding informed by studies at Kurchatov Institute, erosion-resistant materials from Russian Academy of Sciences, and power-conditioning modules compatible with systems from RSC Energia and NPO Energomash.

Notable Projects and Missiles

Fakel contributed thrusters to interplanetary and commercial missions such as those by Roscosmos and international programs including SMART-1, GOCE, BepiColombo, Hayabusa2, and telecommunications satellites like Yamal-300K and Express-AM. Its work supported maneuvering stages for launch vehicles including Proton (rocket), Angara (rocket family), and Zenit (rocket), and was involved indirectly with strategic programs developed by Tupolev, MiG, and Mikoyan. Fakel's propulsion units featured on geostationary station-keeping systems for satellites of operators such as Gazprom Space Systems, SES S.A., Telesat, EUTELSAT, and military platforms under Russian Aerospace Forces command structures linked to United Rocket and Space Corporation initiatives.

Research and Development

R&D at Fakel leverages collaborations with research centers like Keldysh Research Center, Space Research Institute (IKI), Institute of Applied Physics of RAS, and universities such as Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and Tomsk Polytechnic University. Programs emphasized lifetime testing, plume diagnostics, and propellant chemistry with partners including Ramjet Laboratory, Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation, and Institute of Solid State Physics. Fakel research papers and patents were often co-authored with teams from Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Lebedev Physical Institute, and international collaborators at DLR, CNES, JAXA, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Organization and Management

Organizational structure included departments for plasma physics, materials science, and systems integration reporting to managerial bodies that liaised with conglomerates such as Rostec and historical oversight by ministries like Ministry of Aviation Industry (Soviet Union). Leadership interacted with executives and chief designers from NPO Energomash, TsNIIMash, and prominent engineers associated with Sergei Korolev Museum networks. Workforce development involved internships and joint programs with Moscow Aviation Institute, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, and professional exchanges with firms such as RSC Energia and Khrunichev.

Facilities and Testing

Testing facilities included vacuum chambers and thrust stands maintained near Moscow, with collaboration on deep-space simulation at Keldysh Center and thermal-vacuum tests conducted alongside institutes like TsNIIMash and VNIIEM. High-power testing used infrastructure shared with NPO Energomash and launch integration occurred at sites including Baikonur Cosmodrome, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, and coordinate work with Vostochny Cosmodrome authorities. Materials testing referenced work at Institute of High Temperature Electrochemistry and plasma diagnostics shared with Lebedev Physical Institute laboratories.

International Collaborations and Exports

Fakel engaged in export and cooperative programs with European firms such as Airbus, Thales Alenia Space, and agencies including ESA and CNES, as well as commercial operators like SES, Eutelsat, and Intelsat. Agreements involved technology supply to Asian partners including JAXA, ISRO, and companies like Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Defense-related exports were coordinated through Rosoboronexport and trade dialogues with entities such as United Aircraft Corporation and international regulatory bodies including Wassenaar Arrangement participants.

Category:Spacecraft propulsion companies