Month: February 2020

Originally published at Technology.org

We are observing a considerable increase in the demand for satellite systems around the world. Various independent sources forecast that the nano- and microsatellite market will grow from $1.5 billion in 2019 to $3.6 billion in 2024, and will keep growing – to even slightly more than just over 5 billion by 2027.

The consequences of such growth include orbits getting crowded, and technological competition developing. At the same time, space missions have always been marked by high operating costs and a high degree of risk.

One of the solutions to this problem is the use of steam thrusters – a solution that is rapidly breaking through into the mainstream satellite market. The steam drive will expand current mission capabilities, enabling satellites to stay in the proper orbit longer.

The British company SteamJet Space Systems has developed a water-based propulsion system designed for small satellites and CubeSats, that will be demonstrated on a commercial nanosatellite of the Polish company SatRevolution. It will be launched in the third quarter of this year onboard of a Soyuz launcher.

The main benefits of using such an engine include the optimization of orbit congestion, operation in constellations, and efficient deorbiting. Thanks to the system’s high thrust and low power consumption, satellites can be operative sooner and using less power than with traditional electric propulsion. The small size of the propulsion unit, whose volume is compared to a tuna can, also makes the satellite lighter than typical devices, which in turn contributes to the reduction of the costs of launching a spacecraft.

‘Our client’s product can be safely described as eco-friendly – thanks to the possibility of deorbiting, the satellite using such a drive will not become another piece of space debris. Also, water fits in perfectly with the current global trend of non-toxic fuels. Throughout its existence, our company has been involved in innovative solutions, and that is what we are looking for in our clients,’ says Tomasz Poźniak, Chief Development Officer at SatRevolution.

With the launch of SW1FT, another commercial satellite at the turn of 2020 and 2021, SatRevolution has started implementing its vision of shared satellite missions. SW1FT uses its proprietary NanoBus 3U platform to demonstrate several external payloads at once.

Sharing satellite platforms, which can be compared to traveling by bus rather than driving a car by yourself, provides an opportunity to divide costs into several independent entities and allows you to place several innovative sensors or experiments on the satellite at the same time. The phenomenon began when the first commercial satellites were equipped with peripheral transceivers from other suppliers. By reducing costs, space is becoming more and more available to new, small businesses. Larger companies and government agencies are also eager to use such a solution, intending to test the specific functionality without involving large technical or financial resources. Both NASA and ESA increasingly enter public-commercial partnerships.

‘The nano satellite market is growing dynamically – over 2,500 launches are forecast within the next 6 years. It is also becoming more and more diverse, which reduces the advantage of major players. As SatRevolution, we support our clients comprehensively: from making space available, through mounting the load on the platform, satellite integration and fully functional and qualification tests, to arrangements for the necessary permits and campaign related to the launch of the satellite and initial support of the orbit operations,’ declares Grzegorz Zwoliński, SatRevolution’s CEO.

Moreover, SatRevolution offers its clients participation in the instrument creation process.

SatRevolution, a Polish company specializing in the design and production of nanosatellites, which was a start-up until recently, is successfully operating on the business market and selling its products. Based on the experience of Światowid, the company technology demonstrator, SatRevolution plans to launch four satellites, including two for commercial customers, in 2020. At the same time, SatRevolution strives to meet the challenge of reducing costs and being green in space. The company is working to gradually increase the volume of its satellites, thereby increasing the volume available for payloads, and is planning to launch other shared commercial satellites in 2021.

Originally published at Spacenews.com

SteamJet Space Systems is the latest customer to sign up for Momentus’ Vigoride space transportation service.

Momentus announced plans at the SmallSat Symposium here to deploy a SteamJet cubesat on its Vigoride demonstration mission scheduled to launch later this year on a Russian Soyuz rocket. SteamJet, a United Kingdom propulsion startup founded in 2017, builds water-fueled resistojet propulsion for small satellites and cubesats.

“It’s a pleasure to be working with Momentus on launch integration and using their technology for our final orbital placement,” SteamJet CEO Pavel Savin said in a statement. “Momentus has created a fantastic efficiency-to-cost ratio. We look forward to continuing the relationship with future SteamJet satellites.”

SteamJet’s 1.5-unit cubesat will be integrated into a deployer designed to fit multiple cubesats built by Innovative Solutions in Space of the Netherlands. The deployer will then be mounted on Momentus’ Vigoride transfer vehicle, Dawn Harms, Momentus chief revenue officer, said by email.

Once in orbit, SteamJet intends to demonstrate a propulsion system that uses water or another low pressure, non-toxic, non-corrosive fluid propellant to create thrust. SteamJet houses its propulsion system in a module shaped like a tuna can that attaches to the exterior of a cubesat.

“We are excited to be a part of SteamJet’s important flight heritage,” Momentus CEO Mikhail Kokorich said in a statement. “Momentus and SteamJet share the goal of expanding the current mission capabilities of smallsats, enabling satellites to stay in space longer.”

Momentus launched its first 16-unit cubesat mission in 2019. The firm plans to conduct two Vigoride missions in 2020 to demonstrate “in-orbit servicing maneuvers and payload deployment capabilities,” Harms said.

SteamJet and startup NuSpace of Singapore are the first two customers to announce rides on Momentus’ shuttle service, which includes launch arrangements and transfer from the rocket’s drop-off point to another orbit. Momentus plans to begin offering quarterly shuttles to sun-synchronous and mid-inclination in 2021, according to its website.

In total, Momentus has five customers lined up for shuttle flights in 2020 and 2021. Five more customers, including Deimos and Exolaunch, have signed up for Momentus charter flights to destinations not served by shuttle flights.

Singapore startups NuSpace and Aliena plan to send their joint NuX-1 demonstration satellite on Momentus’ Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle after it launches in early 2021 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

NuX-1 is a mission designed to demonstrate autonomous orbit control maneuvers with Aliena’s miniature Hall-thruster and NuSpace’s attitude determination and control system. The NuX-1 triple cubesat also will house an Internet-of-Things (IoT) payload for NuSpace, which plans to establish an IoT constellation.

Momentus won a U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract to accelerate work on in-space transportation services and satellite upper stage technologies. Momentus did not reveal the value of the SBIR contract awarded through a streamlined SBIR process developed by the Air Force Research Lab and AFWERX, an Air Force organization focused on innovation.

 

Originally published at Aerospacetestinginternational.com

Steamjet Space Systems’ is to test and validate its water-based propulsion system, which is being developed for use with small satellites such as CubeSats, at the University of Southampton in the UK.

The Steamjet system uses water as a propellant to create thrust in a low power resistojet. Unlike high-pressure cold gas thrusters or hazardous monopropellant systems, the Steamjet propulsion unit is safe for launch-site operations, or storage within the International Space Station, reducing mission risk.

The propulsion system has a tuna-can shape that enables its installation on the outside of a CubeSat, providing more space for its payload or other subsystems within the satellite.

Marco Pavan, managing director of Steamjet Space Systems said, “CubeSats were initially used in a disposable way with no propulsion, mainly for technology demonstration missions. Companies and governments are now looking at them for commercial and scientific missions, however, the absence of propulsion capabilities is limiting their range of applications.

“Our water-based propulsion system converts water to steam to produce an extremely safe and affordable system. In addition, the installation of the propulsion system outside of the nanosatellite leaves more space inside.

“To qualify our technology, we needed a series of tests to prove effective operations in space conditions, and the University of Southampton, with its expertise in electric propulsion, has everything that we need to qualify the system. We’re also planning tests in space.”

The Steamjet system will be tested in the David Fearn Electric Propulsion Laboratory and Thermal Vacuum Test Facility at the University of Southampton, in the environmental vibration test facility and will be scanned using its µ-VIS High-Resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography (CT) facility.

Dr. Charlie Ryan, Lecturer in Astronautics at the University of Southampton said, “With space-enabled capabilities including simulations, vacuum chambers, and thermal chambers, we offer comprehensive facilities and expertise in resistojet and electric propulsion systems.

“We can validate performances of the basic thruster design and see how it reacts to an in-orbit environment through thermocycling. This project will be the first time that we’ve used the vacuum chamber to verify a thruster and this will enable us to validate the Steamjet Space thruster as suitable for space flight, subject to ESA/NASA standards.”

The project will be funded by a grant from the £4.8 million (US$6.34 million) SPRINT (SPace Research and Innovation Network for Technology) program that provides access to academic space expertise and testing facilities. The SPRINT network is a group of UK universities that have capabilities in testing and development of space technology which is led by the University of Leicester and includes the University of Edinburgh, The Open University, University of Southampton, and the University of Surrey.