ENPULSION launches its new MICRO family of satellite thrusters

ENPULSION, the market leader in small satellite propulsion, has launched the ENPULSION MICRO to cover the propulsion needs of heavier satellites which want to use the acclaimed FEEP technology currently used in the company’s NANO product range. First units have already been shipped to customers.

Thrusters from the new ENPULSION MICRO family are based on the FEEP technology of the NANO family, which has a notable flight heritage with more than 50 units in space by September 2020. This proven flight technology is now scaled to significantly more power. The ENPULSION MICRO R³ produces up to 1.2 mN of thrust with an input power of 120 W and provides up to 50 kNs of total impulse, which makes it particularly adapted to small and medium size spacecraft.

It can be launched safely on any rocket as it contains no pressure vessels or energetic chemical. The thruster and propellant are all contained in a 14x12x10 cm (14x12x13 cm with PPU) module bolted directly to any flat panel. No accommodation for a separate tank or fluid piping is required.

The ENPULSION MICRO R³ is inherently redundant with more than a 100 parallel ion emission sites and 4 cold redundant neutralizers. Its high specific impulse and the unrivaled control precision are perfect for station keeping and attitude control. End-of-life operations can be performed at the most optimal operation point depending on remaining propellant quantities. The design incorporates lessons learned from many acceptance tests and in-orbit performances of the ENPULSION NANO.

All products from the ENPULSION MICRO family use radiation tested (TID and SEE) electronics for increased reliability. Thrusters are procured in lot-controlled batches. Selected sets of these batches are subjected to radiation testing, so that each thruster delivered to a customer can be traced back to a fully representative qualification model using components from the same batch. The thruster is assembled into a protective casing that shields the electronics from the hazardous space radiation environment, facilitates handling during integration, and allows side mounting.

“We see this as a major milestone in the company’s development”, said Dr. Alexander Reissner, CEO of ENPULSION. “The MICRO is the result of many years of product development and will allow us to reach a new group of customers with our reliable and tested propulsion technologies.”

About ENPULSION

ENPULSION is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric propulsion systems for nano- and microsatellites. The company is based in Wiener Neustadt, Austria and has a business development office in the USA. Its products are based on the company’s proprietary Field-Emission Electric Propulsion (FEEP) technology, behind which are more than 30 years of research and development work in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Research Facility FOTEC. In its own semi-automated production facility ENPULSION manufactures the ENPULSION MICRO and the ENPULSION NANO Thruster (formerly IFM NANO) families – the only compact, scalable, and modular electric propulsion systems worldwide. The ENPULSION NANO Thruster became the first European electric propulsion thruster to fly on a constellation of satellites. Currently there are more than 50 ENPULSION thrusters in space with more than 150 delivered to customers. The company is ISO 9001:2015 quality certified for the development, testing, serial production, and distribution of space propulsion systems.

For more information and orders please visit www.enpulsion.com.