SpaceX uses ARGON ION PROPULSION to move Starlink satellites through space And the engineering is pretty wild Starlink satellites use argon Hall-effect thrusters electric engines that ionize argon gas and accelerate the charged particles at extremely high speed They allow Starlink satellites to: • Raise themselves into operational orbit • Maneuver around other spacecraft and debris • Maintain their position in space • Deorbit themselves at the end of their life SpaceX originally used krypton, but switched its next-generation Starlink satellites to argon The V2 Mini argon thruster produces: • 170 mN of thrust • 2.4X the thrust of the first-generation system • 1.5X the specific impulse And Starlink became the first spacecraft system to fly using argon propulsion in space A Falcon 9 gets Starlink into space Then these tiny electric engines keep thousands of satellites exactly where they need to be