Benchmark works with Space Forge to develop reusable engines

Benchmark Space Systems announced plans May 24 to produce engines in the United Kingdom and to work with U.K. startup Space Forge to develop reusable chemical propulsion systems.

Phase Four wins DARPA contract to test novel propellant

Phase Four won a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract to demonstrate the California startup’s radio frequency thruster technology with a new propellant.

Morpheus unveils Sphere product line for satellite constellations

Morpheus, a German propulsion startup that opened an office in Los Angeles earlier this year, unveiled a suite of products, called the Sphere ecosystem, that are designed to work together to reduce the cost and complexity of satellite constellation operations.

Bradford’s Comet production moves to Luxembourg

Bradford Space is updating its Comet electrothermal propulsion technology and transferring production of the small satellite thrusters from the United States to Luxembourg.

Exotrail to provide thrust for York cislunar mission

York Space Systems plans to rely on Exotrail electric propulsion for a mission to provide Earth-to-moon communications services from cislunar orbit.

Powering sustainability: Satellite propulsion underpins orbital stewardship

Small satellite propulsion has a critical role to play in keeping space sustainable. While in-orbit debris cleaners and other emerging capabilities capture imaginations, thrusters underpin a healthy operating environment in space.

ExoTerra to provide Blackjack satellite thrusters

Blue Canyon Technologies selected ExoTerra Resources to provide electric propulsion for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Blackjack Phase 2 and Phase 3 satellites.

Phase Four Maxwell to test green propellant

Phase Four plans to fuel its Maxwell engine with a green propellant develop by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory under a contract the Southern California startup won Aug. 18 at the U.S. Space Force’s first SpaceWERX Pitch Day.

Orbion wins contract to demonstrate high-thrust propulsion

Orbion Space Technology announced a U.S. Air Force contract to develop and demonstrate high-thrust propulsion to help small satellites quickly dodge satellites or space debris.

Small satellite propulsion begins to prove itself

In the last couple of years, more than a dozen companies have reported successful firing of new satellites thrusters. Still, it’s too soon to say much about the performance of many of the new cubesat and small satellite thrusters.

Accion to supply thrusters for Xplore ESPA-class satellite

Accion Systems plans to supply miniature ion thrusters for Xplore Inc.’s 150-kilogram LEO Xcraft satellite, under an agreement announced Aug. 10.

Stellar Exploration propels EchoStar nanosatellite to valuable slot

Stellar Exploration supplied the propulsion system for the Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems spacecraft that ultimately helped EchoStar claim potentially valuable S-band spectrum rights.

Capella Space and Phase Four reveal Maxwell Engine performance

Capella Space launched its fourth synthetic aperture radar satellite June 29 with a Maxwell electric thruster manufactured by propulsion startup Phase Four.

EchoStar reports Jupiter-3 delay and nanosatellite failures

EchoStar Corp. announced another delay in the launch of its Jupiter-3 communications satellite and the failure of two nanosatellites to reach their intended orbits, during a Feb. 23 quarterly earnings call.  

Exotrail demonstrates miniature Hall-effect thruster in orbit

Update: This article was updated on Jan. 12 at 1:09 pm Eastern time with information about initial thruster testing.

SAN FRANCISCO – French startup Exotrail announced Jan. 12 that its miniature Hall-effect thruster ignited in or…

Spacety launches satellite to test ThrustMe iodine electric propulsion and constellation technologies

French propulsion startup ThrustMe is preparing to conduct an in-orbit demonstration of an iodine electric propulsion system on a 12-unit Spacety cubesat launched Nov. 6 at 10:19 Eastern time on a Chinese Long March 6 rocket.

German cubesats to showcase formation flight technology

The four-satellite NetSat mission launched Sept. 28 on a Russian Soyuz rocket is designed to showcase technology for formation flight.

Morpheus Space attracts high-profile backers

Morpheus Space attracted a high-profile group of investors for its first venture capital round.

ExoTerra quadruples production capacity to meet government, commercial demand

ExoTerra Resources, a Colorado firm focused on propulsion and in-situ resource utilization, is preparing to quadruple production capacity to meet government and commercial demand.