{"id":17136,"date":"2025-03-17T20:09:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T12:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/portal-space-systems-opens-its-doors-for-a-sneak-preview-of-solar-propulsion-system\/"},"modified":"2025-03-17T20:09:18","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T12:09:18","slug":"portal-space-systems-opens-its-doors-for-a-sneak-preview-of-solar-propulsion-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/portal-space-systems-opens-its-doors-for-a-sneak-preview-of-solar-propulsion-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Portal Space Systems opens its doors for a sneak preview of solar propulsion system"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
VIPs cut the ribbon at Portal Space Systems\u2019 HQ in Bothell, Wash. From left: U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene; Portal co-founders Prashaanth Ravindran, Jeff Thornburg and Ian Vorbach; and Bothell Mayor Mason Thompson. (GeekWire Photo \/ Alan Boyle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BOTHELL, Wash. \u2014 From the outside, Portal Space Systems\u2019 headquarters looks like a standard-issue office space in a Bothell business park. But inside, the Portal team is working to harness the heat of the sun, to speed up how spacecraft get around.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink about it as finally bringing what you see in Star Trek into reality in orbit, to actually move spacecraft the way Hollywood had originally intended,\u201d Jeff Thornburg, Portal\u2019s CEO and co-founder, said at today\u2019s ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 8,000-square-foot development lab and HQ.<\/p>\n

The hardware that\u2019s spread across Portal\u2019s lab tells you that the four-year-old venture is no typical business-park tenant: In one corner, there\u2019s a gleaming vacuum chamber where components for Portal\u2019s solar thermal propulsion system are being tested. In another corner, a 3D printer stands ready to turn out the parts for subscale test models of the system\u2019s heat-exchanger thruster.<\/p>\n

Portal plans to build the system into its Supernova satellite platform. Supernova is designed to use foldable mirrors to focus the sun\u2019s rays onto the propulsion system\u2019s heat exchanger. When ammonia passes through the heat exchanger, it rapidly builds up pressure and produces thrust.<\/p>\n

Thornburg said the system provides several advantages over traditional rocket thrusters. For example, there\u2019s no need for oxidizers or hard-to-handle cryogenic fuels. \u201cWe\u2019re not burning anything,\u201d Thornburg said. \u201cWe\u2019re just concentrating the solar energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest advantage is that Supernova should be able to push itself and its attached payload into different orbits much more quickly than your typical spacecraft.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has the ability to maneuver like nothing else that exists in orbit, which means it can go from low Earth orbit or medium Earth orbit to geostationary orbits within hours or a day,\u201d Thornburg said. \u201cOr it can move from one orbit to another quickly to accomplish a commercial or a defense mission with speeds that typically take weeks and months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:
An artist\u2019s conception shows Portal\u2019s Supernova satellite bus in orbit, using a propulsion system that focuses sunlight on a heat exchanger to produce thrust. (Portal Space Systems Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thornburg\u2019s engineering r\u00e9sum\u00e9 includes stints at NASA, SpaceX, Stratolaunch and Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper, plus a role as CEO and founder of Interstellar Technologies. He co-founded Portal in 2021, along with Ian Vorbach and Prashaanth Ravindran.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis company was started in the garage of my house in Bothell, with my wife finding out that I started yet another space company by surprise when mail arrived for Portal Space Systems in the inbox,\u201d Thornburg recalled.<\/p>\n

Portal began leasing the Bothell facility last year, and the workspace was re-engineered to accommodate a high-powered electrical induction system that simulates the sun\u2019s heating power. Ravindran, who serves as Portal\u2019s vice president of engineering, said the system can heat up components in the lab\u2019s vacuum chamber to 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,700 degrees Fahrenheit) over the course of 15 to 20 seconds.<\/p>\n

The company plans to start testing Supernova\u2019s 3D-printed heat-exchanger thruster by the middle of this year. Thornburg said the first demonstrator spacecraft is due to launch next year, with a payload that will try out technologies aimed at improving space situational awareness.<\/p>\n

\"\"
In the background, Portal CEO Jeff Thornburg shows off a vacuum chamber that\u2019s used for testing propulsion system components. Bothell Mayor Mason Thompson is watching in the foreground. (Portal Space Systems Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Situational awareness and the capacity to change orbits rapidly are becoming increasingly important issues, due in part to the rapid proliferation of satellites in low Earth orbit, or LEO. Over the past decade, the number of active satellites in LEO has risen from 1,300 to more than 10,000 \u2014 and as many as 70,000 satellites could be launched to LEO over the next five years.<\/p>\n

Another factor has to do with potential threats from America\u2019s space rivals, China and Russia. This month, Pentagon officials warned that the Russians appeared to be maneuvering their satellites to practice \u201cattack and defend tactics\u201d in LEO. \u201cThe threat posture on orbit is much worse than most people realize,\u201d Thornburg said.<\/p>\n

He said Supernova\u2019s orbit-changing capabilities could help U.S. satellites dodge threats from attacking satellites, or go after the satellites that pose such threats: \u201cIf you have the type of speed that we have, they\u2019re not going to know what\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thornburg said Portal\u2019s workforce currently consists of 35 employees and contractors. \u201cWe\u2019ll have other engineers that are joining the team here in the next few weeks and months,\u201d he said. So far, the company has raised $2.6 million in pre-seed funding. It has also received $5.5 million in small-business research grants, leading up to a $45 million boost orchestrated through the SpaceWERX STRATFI program.<\/p>\n

\"\"
U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene and Bothell Mayor Mason Thompson check out a subscale test model of Portal Space Systems\u2019 heat-exchanger thruster. (Portal Space Systems Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At today\u2019s ribbon-cutting ceremony, Portal received a boost from U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash. \u201cIt\u2019s really exciting that you chose our region and all the resources that are here to support you,\u201d DelBene said. \u201cFolks come here because we have an incredible workforce. We have the innovation infrastructure to help support growth. It\u2019s part of our DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bothell Mayor Mason Thompson offered a welcome as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are legitimately happy that you are here,\u201d he said. \u201cWe get to have aerospace along with our thriving life-science sector, and the first quantum computing manufacturer in the country. We\u2019ve got a couple of different colleges, and we really hope that this is a place that can grow with you. \u2026 We can support you as you go from a garage, to your first facility, to beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thornburg said the Bothell facility will be a \u201clong-term R&D center for Portal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working with some of our customers on building up our manufacturing capabilities,\u201d he said. \u201cOver the next couple of years, we\u2019ll be able to produce 12 spacecraft a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the ceremony, Thornburg told GeekWire that the site for the Supernova manufacturing facility could be chosen later this year, and that the team was looking at potential sites in the area between Bothell and Arlington.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proximity to Seattle is exactly right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VIPs cut the ribbon at Portal Space Systems\u2019 HQ in Bothell, Wash. From left: U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene; Portal co-founders Prashaanth Ravindran, Jeff Thornburg and Ian Vorbach; and Bothell Mayor Mason Thompson. (GeekWire Photo \/ Alan Boyle) BOTHELL, Wash. \u2014 From the outside, Portal Space Systems\u2019 headquarters looks like a standard-issue office space in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4363,642,4405,442,4413],"class_list":["post-17136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-bothell","tag-portal-space-systems","tag-propulsion","tag-satellites","tag-solar-power"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17136"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17136\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}