QinetiQ

QinetiQ Group plc

Cody Technology Park
Ively Road
Farnborough
Hampshire
GU14 0LX
United Kingdom

www.qinetiq.com

QinetiQ plc is the UK’s largest research and technology organisation, which provides technical support, training, test and evaluation, and know-how to customers in the defence, aerospace, and security markets headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire. It is the world’s 52nd-largest defence contractor measured by 2011 defence revenues, and the sixth-largest based in the UK. QinetiQ is organised in three main businesses: UK Services, US Services and Global Products.

The T6 GIE technology was selected due to its high specific impulse capability, which reduces the required propellant mass allowing two scientific payloads to be accommodated. QinetiQ was the design authority for the BepiColombo solar electric propulsion system, comprising the T6 engines and associated electrical harnesses and pipework, the Power Processing Unit provided by Crisa and the Flow Control Unit provided by Bradford Engineering.

T-Series (Gridded Ion Thrusters)

Our project team

Mr John Laycock

Project Manager – Electric Propulsion Systems

John Laycock is a project manager at QinetiQ Space UK in Farnborough Hampshire. He has worked in the Space industry for over 30 years, working on various projects relating to Mission Payloads and High Power Electric Propulsion Systems. In recent years he has been heavily involved in the BepiColombo mission, as QinetiQ’s Industrial Manager. John is responsible for the delivery of QinetiQ’s contribution to the H2020 GIESEPP programme.

Mr. Kerry Shipley

Project Manager – Electric Propulsion Systems

Kerry Shipley is a project manager at QinetiQ Space UK in Farnborough Hampshire. He worked in the Space industry for the last 8 years working on various project including High Power Electric Propulsion Systems and payload systems for Space Frequency Monitoring, Interplanetary Communications and Optical Metrology. Kerry is responsible for the delivery of the T6 Ring Cusp EPS and the T5 GIE solution for H2020 GIESEPP.

Dr. Jaime Perez Luna

Systems engineer – Electric Propulsion Systems

Jaime Perez Luna is an electric propulsion expert at QinetiQ Space UK in Farnborough Hampshire, with over fourteen years’ experience in the field of electric propulsion. Over the years he has investigated various experimental and theoretical aspects of many electric propulsion devices, with a particular focus on Hall effect and gridded thrusters. He was one of the key members of the BepiColombo technical team in the last years and is now technical lead for the T7 and T5 based GIESEPP systems.