{"id":17394,"date":"2022-04-12T20:15:10","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T12:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/activate-the-ion-drive-leostella-will-buy-astras-electric-propulsion-systems-for-small-satellites\/"},"modified":"2022-04-12T20:15:10","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T12:15:10","slug":"activate-the-ion-drive-leostella-will-buy-astras-electric-propulsion-systems-for-small-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/activate-the-ion-drive-leostella-will-buy-astras-electric-propulsion-systems-for-small-satellites\/","title":{"rendered":"Activate the ion drive! LeoStella will buy Astra\u2019s electric propulsion systems for small satellites"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
An electric propulsion system lights up its thruster with xenon propellant. (Astra \/ Apollo Fusion Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Astra Space says it\u2019s made a deal with Tukwila, Wash.-based LeoStella to provide multiple electric propulsion systems for LeoStella\u2019s small satellites, with deliveries due to begin later this year.<\/p>\n

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.<\/p>\n

LeoStella is a joint venture between BlackSky and Thales Alenia Space that builds satellites for BlackSky, Loft Orbital and other customers at its Tukwila manufacturing facility. California-based Astra Space\u2019s main business line has to do with launching rockets, but last year the company acquired Apollo Fusion, which makes electric propulsion systems.<\/p>\n

Electric propulsion systems, also known as ion drives, can provide a gentle but steady oomph for spacecraft by shooting out beams of ions. The Astra \/ Apollo Fusion systems can make use of xenon or krypton propellant.<\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, Apollo Fusion\u2019s electric propulsion system was previously chosen for use on a version of the Sherpa space tug that\u2019s made by Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc., one of Astra\u2019s industry partners.<\/p>\n

LeoStella plans to use Astra\u2019s electric propulsion systems on a variety of satellites.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs demand for small satellites continues to grow, we are always looking for innovative options to provide highly efficient, reliable propulsion for our satellites,\u201d Tod Byquist, LeoStella\u2019s director of programs and supply chain, said today in a news release. \u201cAstra\u2019s Spacecraft Engine has good flight heritage and the performance we need to get our satellites to space on schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Cassidy, Astra\u2019s vice president of project management, called LeoStella \u201ca pioneering force in constructing critical space infrastructure through a variety of satellite designs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir vision to deploy reliable, cost-effective satellites aligns closely with Astra\u2019s and demonstrates the innovative forces at work to expand and accelerate access to space,\u201d Cassidy said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An electric propulsion system lights up its thruster with xenon propellant. (Astra \/ Apollo Fusion Photo) Astra Space says it\u2019s made a deal with Tukwila, Wash.-based LeoStella to provide multiple electric propulsion systems for LeoStella\u2019s small satellites, with deliveries due to begin later this year. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. LeoStella is […]<\/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":[1941,4642,1775,4542,20,442],"class_list":["post-17394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-astra","tag-astra-space","tag-electric-propulsion","tag-leostella","tag-satellite","tag-satellites"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17394"}],"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=17394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17394\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}