INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Building effective propulsion systems for satellites has traditionally been a highly bespoke affair, with expensive, one-off systems
tailor-made to big, expensive spacecraft hardware
But increasingly, companies, including startups, are looking at ways to provide propulsion tech that can scale with the projected boom in
demand for orbital satellites, including CubeSats and small sats, as the commercialization of space and advances in sensor, communication
and launch technology broaden the scope of those working in this bold new frontier.Morpheus Space, which began life as a research project at
the University of Western Germany, has accomplished a lot when it comes to propulsion in the short time since its official founding around a
We have to deal with that
ton of inbound interest, and has even had conversations with the CTO of NASA and the CEO of Aerospace Corporation based on the strength of
When you factor in the low cost of these thrusters versus other solutions, and the ability to make them incredibly small (one thruster,
emerging new space industry
Ensuring the mass of these thrusters is small pays off big dividends when it comes to thinking about launch costs, and the fact that these
Morpheus thrusters bring to the market
L?rincz told me that their technology allows you to quickly and easily build a large batch of the thrusters, instead of having to
Morpheus can then pass on to its customers, opening up to a whole new, much more price-sensitive segment of the market the possibility of
including true orbital maneuvering capabilities.Next up for Morpheus Space, after it gets its hardware business fully up and running, is to
develop and deploy software that complements its thrusters and can offer clients things like fully automated route planning and navigation,
So when and how you turn, all the routing
as companies build out new use cases for collecting and making use of data gathered from orbit
Orbital traffic management and collision avoidance is one reason big industry groups like the Space Safety Coalition are being formed, and
anyone who can help supply with a solution players at all budget levels of the industry stands to benefit.
