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.<\/p>\n
The mission will serve as the company\u2019s first in-orbit test of its air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) technology, designed to enable satellites to operate for extended periods at altitudes below conventional low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n
Kreios plans to deploy the demonstration spacecraft at an altitude of approximately 300 to 350 kilometres before gradually descending through VLEO while operating its experimental propulsion system.<\/p>\n
During the mission, the company will fire the ABEP thruster at different orbital altitudes to evaluate engine performance and collect atmospheric data across the lower reaches of Earth\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n
The spacecraft will also carry up to two additional payloads, although details of those missions have not yet been disclosed.<\/p>\n
Rather than developing its own satellite platform for the demonstration, Kreios will use Kongsberg NanoAvionics\u2019 MP42 microsatellite bus to accelerate the mission schedule.<\/p>\n
The satellite bus was not specifically designed for the higher atmospheric drag encountered in VLEO, limiting the mission\u2019s expected operational life to between six and ten months.<\/p>\n
However, Kreios said using a proven spacecraft platform allows the company to reach orbit more quickly and focus on validating its propulsion technology before developing a purpose-built satellite bus.<\/p>\n
Chief Executive Officer Adri\u00e1n Senar said the primary objective is to validate the propulsion system and gather operational data that will guide the design of future long-duration spacecraft capable of operating in VLEO for several years.<\/p>\n
Kreios ultimately aims to develop an integrated propulsion system and satellite platform capable of remaining at altitudes between 200 and 250 kilometres for seven to ten years through continuous drag compensation.<\/p>\n
According to Senar, data collected during the 2028 demonstration mission will be incorporated into the design of future Kreios-built satellite buses, with the company targeting the first fully drag-compensated VLEO platform by 2029.<\/p>\n
Kreios is among several companies racing to commercialise air-breathing electric propulsion technology for very low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n
UK startup NewOrbit recently secured Series A funding to support a planned 2028 demonstration mission, while Bellatrix Aerospace is collaborating with South Korea\u2019s TelePIX on an ABEP-powered satellite also targeted for launch in 2028.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Redwire is developing a similar propulsion system under a US$44 million contract awarded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), although the company has not yet announced a launch timeline.<\/p>\n
As interest in VLEO continues to grow, Kreios believes its upcoming demonstration will provide critical operational data that could help establish a first-mover advantage in the emerging market for satellites capable of sustained operations at extremely low orbital altitudes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\u2019s first in-orbit test of its air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) technology, designed to enable satellites to operate for […]<\/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":[6316,39,7475,299,1504,159,1775,244,6124,9976,6032,9977,5744,9978,9979,6406,4697,7168,6134,4998,5783,6136,5739,3030,6408,298],"class_list":["post-61590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-abep","tag-aerospace","tag-air-breathing-electric-propulsion","tag-bellatrix-aerospace","tag-darpa","tag-earth-observation","tag-electric-propulsion","tag-europe","tag-in-orbit-demonstration","tag-kongsberg-nanoavionics","tag-kreios-space","tag-lithuania","tag-low-earth-orbit","tag-microsatellite","tag-mp42","tag-neworbit","tag-redwire","tag-satellite-bus","tag-satellite-propulsion","tag-satellite-technology","tag-space-industry","tag-space-innovation","tag-space-technology","tag-spain","tag-very-low-earth-orbit","tag-vleo"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61590"}],"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=61590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61590\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}