Smallsats Drive “Disruption” In Propulsion Technology Written 25 May 2018

Space News reports that according to a panel at the Space Tech Expo, small satellites have spurred technological advances that have “opened up a wide range of propulsion options for satellites.” Executives for several propulsion startups believe that the “demands for propulsion that can meet mass, volume and power constraints of small satellites were helping drive innovation in this field.” Enpulsion CEO Alexander Resissner, whose company is working on smallsat-sized electric propulsion systems, cited a “reasonably large disruption in the propulsion community,” while Additive Rocket Corporation CEO Andy Kieatiwong believes his company can “squeeze out more thrust and eliminate weight from cold-gas thrusters and monopropellant thrusters to such an extent that we can make them viable for cubesats and small satellites.” Neumann Space Director and Chief Scientist Patrick Neumann announced that his company is “in the process” of moving from a “laboratory prototype to engineering models” of an electric propulsion system that can use solid materials in an arc thruster.
More Info (Space News)