Academician Garri Alekseyevich Popov, who pioneered Russia's work on electric rocket engines, died at the age of 92. Roscosmos announced Popov's death on October 4 and expressed its condolences to his family and loved ones.
Popov began his academic career as an assistant at the Moscow Aviation Institute and rose to become a professor. On his own initiative, he founded the Institute of Applied Mechanics and Electrodynamics in 1987 and took over its management.

Plasma thrusters were used on space stations
Electric rocket engines were at the center of Popov's scientific work. The team he led developed a new generation of these systems.

Plasma thrusters based on pulsed plasma engines were produced under Popov's leadership. The systems operated successfully on the Mir orbital station and the International Space Station.
Roscosmos remembered Popov as an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a doctor of technical sciences.