High ISP engines for your low-thrust needs ##Stellar Plasma-Assisted Rocket Kinetics Technologies SPARK Technologies is proud to present the latest in electric rocket engines. These Ion engines deliver exceptionally high specific impulse (Isp), with credible (actually measurable) thrust. Just add a wee bit of Xenon (and more EC than you ever thought you'd need) and you'll be off to the races... Sort of. I mean, we'll get you there... Eventually... You weren't in any sort of big hurry, were you?

NOTE: This mod aims to be the KSP2 spiritual successor for Nertea's KSP1 Near Future Propulsion mod. No code or meshes are reused from that mod, but the intent here is to fill the same basic need, delivering moderately realistic electric propulsion engines based on real-world designs and theories. The thrust has been "kerbelized", but the Isp, weight, and power consumption are intended to be fairly realistic.

Tested with Kerbal Space Program 2 v0.1.4 & SpaceWarp 1.4.3

• Requires SpaceWarp 1.4.0+
• Requires LFO 0.9.0+
• Optional, but highly recommended: Kesa Solar 1.0.3+
• Optional, but highly recommended: Lux's OAB Extensions 1.0.0+

• SpaceDock: SPARK Technologies
• Forum Thread: Forum Thread

1. Download and extract BepInEx mod loader with SpaceWarp 1.4.0 or later (see link above) into your game folder and run the game, then close it. If you've done this before, you can skip this step. If you've installed the game via Steam, then this is probably here: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Kerbal Space Program 2. If you complete this step correctly you'll have a BepInEx subfolder in that directory along with the following files (in addition to what was there before): changelog.txt, doorstop_config.ini, winhttp.dll
2. Install Lux's Flames and Ornaments (LFO) 0.9.0 or later (see link above). From the zip file copy the BepInEx folder on top of your game's install folder. If done correctly, you should have the following folder structure within your KSP2 game folder: ...\Kerbal Space Program 2\BepInEx\plugins\LFO.
3. Download and extract this mod into the game folder. From theSPARK-x.x.x.zip file copy the BepInEx folder on top of your game's install folder. If done correctly, you should have the following folder structure within your KSP2 game folder: ...\Kerbal Space Program 2\BepInEx\plugins\SPARK.
4. Optional: Download and install Kesa Solar (see link above). From the zip file copy the BepInEx folder on top of your game's install folder. If done correctly, you should have the following folder structure within your KSP2 game folder: ...\Kerbal Space Program 2\BepInEx\plugins\kesa.
5. Optional: Download and install Lux's OAB Extensions (see link above). From the zip file copy the BepInEx folder on top of your game's install folder. If done correctly, you should have the following folder structure within your KSP2 game folder: ...\Kerbal Space Program 2\BepInEx\plugins\LuxsOABExtensions.

These engines employ strong magnetic fields to create a Hall Effect current in a stream of Xenon gas, ionizing the gas and propelling the resulting ions out at great speed. They are characterized by an annual ceramic channel with an anode down inside it and a centrally located cathode, which serves to neutralize the plasma exhaust.

• SPT-100: If you need a really small (tiny! 0.3125m-class) low thrust/high ISP electric engine, then the SPT-100 is the part to pick. Weighing in at a mere 0.075t, it's one of the smallest engines you can find anywhere, yet it delivers a whopping 0.3 kN of thrust with an incredible 2,200s of Isp.
• X2: What's better than a Hall Effect Thruster? A Nested Hall Thruster! Why settle for just one chamber when you can have two with a modest increase in size, weight, and power consumption? The SPARK X2 packs terrific thrust and high Isp into an Extra Small (0.625m-class) package without needing as much power as a small town just to operate.
• X3: Seeing what they can do with two nested thrusters, the engineers at SPARK Technologies decided to one-up themselves and go for three! Turns out, this required moving up a size category to Small (1.25m-class), but that didn't stop them. The SPARK X3 delivers high Isp along with nearly 2 kN of thrust! However, it does need a lot of power...
• X4: The SPARK Technologies X4 is the pinnacle in Small (1.25m-class) Nested Hall Thruster ion engines. Seriously, we just couldn't fit any more nested thrusters into an engine this size. Providing best-in-class thrust (for an ion engine) with superb Isp, the X4 can take you far. Just be sure to bring lots of power because it's notoriously hungry...

Gridded ion thrusters employ multiple differently charged grids to ionize a gas and accelerate the resulting ions out at terrific speed. Generally delivering higher Isp than a Hall Effect Thruster, they are characterized by even lower thrust. The stock Ion engine in KSP2 is an example of such an engine. However, recent advances have proven that even more performance is possible, albeit at a terrific cost in terms of power consumption.

• DS4G-1: Other gridded ion engines may have just two or three grids, but why stop there? The DS4G-1 has four grids, and knows how to use 'em! On the plus side, it delivers best-in-class Isp with superb thrust (for an ion engine). On the minus side, it requires a staggering amount of power... Get it? Minus side? Electrons? Why are you not laughing?

Magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters use the Lorentz force to accelerate negatively charged ions. Also known as Lorenz Force Accelerators, these engines can run on a variety of different fuels, but work best when fueled with Lithium. They produce very high thrust for an ion engine, however they have less Isp than some other types and consume staggering amounts of power. If you need more thrust, but want it in a high Isp package and you don't mind packing a nuclear reactor along for the ride, then an MPD thruster may be the option for you. Even their low-for-ion-engine Isp is much higher than you'd get from a chemical engine, and their thrust is on part with a small chemical engine. You may be surprised just how handy one of these actually is.

• MPD-1 The MPD-1 started out as a proof of concept Lorenz Force Accelerator in a Plasma Physics lab where an aspiring graduate assistant noticed that it kept nudging the coffee table to the left whenever Dr. Kasperov Kerman ran his experimental apparatus. How it found its way from there to the SPARK Technologies factory is an ongoing mystery.