TAMPA, Fla. — Bulgaria-based microsatellite specialist EnduroSat has ordered 100 electric propulsion systems from Austria’s Enpulsion as demand for larger spacecraft continues to rise.
EnduroSat provides satellites starting from a one-unit (1U) standard cubesat structure measuring 10 centimeters a side, but a company spokesperson said Nov. 25 that demand is shifting away from tiny spacecraft.
As falling launch prices help push the industry toward larger and more capable satellites, the company plans to include the thrusters as a default for platforms 6U and larger.
Onboard propulsion extends a satellite’s operational life and enables operators to maneuver it in space and safely de-orbit once the mission ends.
“We are excited to work on scaling our customers’ missions,” said EnduroSat CEO Raycho Raychev. “We are grateful for the unprecedented growth of our space service demand, and we are working to significantly increase the capabilities of all our missions.”
The 6U Balkan-2, part of the Balkan extension of Europe’s Copernicus Earth observation constellation, is set to be one of the first EnduroSat satellites to use Enpulsion’s Field Emission Electric Propulsion technology.
Although unable to provide details of the agreement with Enpulsion, Raychev said the delivery timeline is flexible, based on customer demand and the propulsion maker’s manufacturing capacity.
The first 30 propulsion systems are scheduled for delivery within the next 12 months, including an initial batch due before the end of this year.
According to Enpulsion, more than 200 of its propulsion systems are currently in space.
The eight-year-old Austrian company also said it had tripled the size of its facilities this year to 4,000 square meters, following increasing demand for space mobility and faster production times.
EnduroSat deployed its first satellite in 2018 and says it has delivered more than 60 of them to date.