propulsion systems Archives

July 5, 2024July 5, 2024 by Andy Tomaswick

CubeSat Propulsion Technologies are Taking Off

Two cubesats communicated and then maneuvered towards one another in a recent technology demonstration. Image Credit: NASA

CubeSats are becoming ever more popular, with around 2,400 total launched so far. However, the small size limits their options for fundamental space exploration technologies, including propulsion. They become even more critical when mission planners design missions that require them to travel to other planets or even asteroids. A team from Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi recently released a review of the different Cubesat propulsion technologies currently available – let’s look at their advantages and disadvantages.

April 2, 2023April 2, 2023 by Andy Tomaswick

Pale Blue Successfully Operates its Water-Based Propulsion System in Orbit

New in-space propulsion techniques seem to be popping out of the woodwork. The level of innovation behind moving things around in space is astounding, and now a company from Japan has just hit a significant milestone. Pale Blue, which I assumed was named as a nod to a beloved Carl Sagan book, recently successfully tested their in-orbit water-based propulsion system, adding yet another safe, affordable propulsion system to satellite designers’ repertoires.

December 9, 2021December 9, 2021 by Andy Tomaswick

Company Tests Iodine Thruster in Space for the First Time

Ion thrusters have played second fiddle to chemical rockets for most of the history of space exploration. Part of that is because of their inability to launch payloads into orbit. But in space, their high thrust-to-weight ratio has plenty of appeal. Other features have held the technology back, including the difficulty of working with the thruster’s fuel source – xenon. Now, a team of engineers and scientists from ThrustMe, a French start-up that focuses on developing advanced propulsions systems, have developed an ion thruster that works on an entirely new and much easier to use material – iodine.

May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 by Andy Tomaswick

Aircraft Could fly at Mach 17 on Shockwaves From Continuous Detonations

Ever felt the need to get somewhere really, really quickly? Would Mach 17 work? That’s the speed a new prototype engine from researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF) could potentially hurl an aircraft through the skies, making a trip from New York to Los Angeles in under half an hour. At the heart of this new technology is a new propulsion technology that stabilizes detonations and then uses their shockwaves to provide hypersonic propulsion to an aircraft.