Development of the Helios high-thrust plasma engine for electric space propulsion
The Plasma Rocket Company GmbH
GießenNew on Amplifa
About Us
The Plasma Rocket Company GmbH is a startup from Gießen developing the Helios plasma engine. The goal is to combine high thrust with electric propulsion technology in order to unite the advantages of chemical propulsion (high thrust) and electric propulsion (high fuel efficiency, continuous thrust). At the core of the concept is a two-stage ionization system that ionizes a propellant gas at elevated pressure, thereby creating the basis for ejecting large quantities of propellant per unit of time. Helios-1 is a fully electric concept with a capacitive first stage and an inductive main stage; Helios-2 is a hybrid engine with chemical combustion as the first stage. For the proof of concept, an experimental infrastructure with a vacuum system, neutral gas supply and power supply was set up; the prototype was first shown publicly in 2024 at the Hessen in Space conference. The company sees itself as part of the European space ecosystem around ESA and thus offers the propulsion basis for interplanetary exploration.
- Site
- Gießen
- Processes
- Development of the Helios plasma engine (high-thrust electric propulsion technology), Two-stage ionization system (first stage + main stage), Helios-1: fully electric concept (capacitive first stage, inductive main stage), Helios-2: hybrid engine (chemical combustion as first stage, inductive main stage)
- Materials
- Argon
- Certificates
- Experimental proof-of-concept tests
- Industries
- Space, Electric space propulsion, Interplanetary exploration, Space propulsion systems
- 01
Engine concept development
- 02
Construction of experimental infrastructure (vacuum, gas supply, power supply)
- 03
Prototype construction of the ionization system
- 04
Experimental test campaigns
- 05
Public presentations and competitions
Technology & Processes
Argon
Neutral propellant gas for the two-stage ionization, also tested as an argon-air mixture.
Sites
Gießen
DEHeadquarters and development
- Materials
- Argon
- Vacuum system
- Neutral gas supply
- Power supply
- Ionization chamber with prototype
Inside the production
Industries
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality
No certified management systems publicly known to date; validation is carried out through experimental test campaigns and participation in competitions.
| Evidence | Gießen |
|---|---|
| Experimental proof-of-concept tests |
Company History
- 2022
Participation in the Innospace Masters competition; Innovation Excellence Award 2022
- 2024
First public presentation of the engine prototype at the Hessen in Space conference in Frankfurt; first place in the ESA BIC Challenge at Innospace Masters 2024
- 2025
Presentation at the DLR Tec Days 2025 in Bonn