Tag: Electric Propulsion
-
Kreios Space Targets 2028 VLEO Demonstration With NanoAvionics Satellite Bus
Spanish aerospace startup Kreios Space has selected Kongsberg NanoAvionics to provide the satellite platform for its first very low Earth orbit (VLEO) demonstration mission, which is targeted for launch in 2028. The mission will serve as the company’s first in-orbit test of its air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) technology, designed to enable satellites to operate for…
-
China Launches 34-Member VLEO Alliance With 2 Satellites Below 300km
Is China Building a VLEO Constellation Program? China now has two satellites sustaining orbits below 300 kilometers simultaneously — and on June 27, 2026, formalized the industrial ecosystem behind that capability by launching a national Very Low Earth Orbit Technology Innovation and Industry Development Alliance, co-founded by 34 organizations, at a conference in Shenzhen attended…
-
York Space Systems to Acquire Solar Cell Maker Solestial
York Space Systems has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Solestial as the company continues a broader strategy to strengthen control over key spacecraft technologies and supply chains. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition marks York’s third announced deal this year following its planned $355 million acquisition of satellite terminal manufacturer…
-
Vast Expands Into Satellite Bus Market With High-Power Spacecraft Platform
Vast said it will enter the satellite bus market with a new high-power spacecraft platform aimed at commercial, Earth observation and national security missions. The company announced plans to offer a 15-kilowatt-class satellite bus designed for high-volume and lower-cost deployment across a range of orbital applications. Vast also said customers will have the option to…
-
ENPULSION Raises €22.5 Million to Expand Electric Satellite Propulsion Business in the U.S.
Austrian space propulsion company ENPULSION has secured €22.5 million in new growth funding as it seeks to expand its presence in the United States and scale production of its satellite propulsion systems. The funding round, announced on March 3, was led by German investment firm Nordwind Growth. ENPULSION said the capital will be used to…
-
Morpheus Space Secures $15 Million to Scale Satellite Propulsion Production
German space technology company Morpheus Space has raised $15 million in new funding to expand production of its in-space electric propulsion systems, as demand grows for maneuverable satellites in increasingly crowded orbits. The investment, announced Thursday, comes from Alpine Space Ventures, the European Investment Fund and other backers. Morpheus Space said the funds will be…
-
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft hits a speed bump on the way to a metal asteroid
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, located nearly 150 million miles from Earth on the way to an unexplored metal asteroid, has stopped firing its engines after detecting a problem in its propulsion system. NASA published an update Tuesday revealing that the robotic spacecraft shut off its plasma thrusters earlier this month. The news wasn’t widely shared until…
-
Starfish Space scrubs plan for a satellite rendezvous after thruster suffers anomaly
An artist’s conception shows Starfish Space’s Otter Pup spacecraft in orbit. (Starfish Space Illustration) Five months after a tilt-a-whirl spin spoiled the debut of Starfish Space’s first spacecraft, the Tukwila, Wash.- based startup has halted efforts to put its Otter Pup back on track to demonstrate an on-orbit satellite rendezvous. Starfish had to abandon its…
-
Amazon says Project Kuiper satellites are maneuvering the way they were built to do
Amazon’s Hall-effect thruster fires up with a krypton glow during testing. (Amazon Photo) A month after the launch of its first prototype Project Kuiper satellites, Amazon reports that the spacecraft have demonstrated controlled maneuvering in orbit using their custom-built electric propulsion systems. “A recent series of test firings provided critical on-orbit data to further validate…
-
Activate the ion drive! LeoStella will buy Astra’s electric propulsion systems for small satellites
An electric propulsion system lights up its thruster with xenon propellant. (Astra / Apollo Fusion Photo) Astra Space says it’s made a deal with Tukwila, Wash.-based LeoStella to provide multiple electric propulsion systems for LeoStella’s small satellites, with deliveries due to begin later this year. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. LeoStella is…