ThrustMe

ThrustMe is a French company that makes in-orbit propulsion systems for satellites. It was founded in 2017. Its turnkey propulsion products have been tested in space and delivered to clients worldwide.

The company says it wants the space industry to stay economically and environmentally sustainable as satellite constellations grow. Its products include the NPT30-I2, an iodine fuelled electric propulsion system in a 1U size, and the JPT150, an iodine Hall thruster.

The NPT30-I2 is a fully integrated system based on gridded ion thruster technology. It includes the ion thruster, the power processing unit, propellant storage and feed system, passive thermal management and intelligent operation control. It is delivered pre-filled and stays non-pressurised during launch.

The NPT30 regulates itself and uses fail-safe algorithms that shut it down if an anomaly is detected. It is modular, so subsystems can be upgraded. ThrustMe reports a 56% reduction in orbit raising time compared with FEEP, and a 72% reduction in direct and indirect cost compared with Hall effect thrusters.

ThrustMe also makes the RCS, a water propulsion and reaction control system in a single 1U package. Its LTA100 is a plug and play particle generator for testing space hardware. The company also offers scientific instruments for ground and space research.

In January 2021 the company said its iodine fuelled electric propulsion system was tested in space aboard the Beihangkongshi-1 satellite. The company was founded on more than 10 years of research at Ecole Polytechnique and the CNRS.

Services

• NPT30-I2 iodine electric propulsion
• NPT30 clusters
• JPT150 iodine Hall thruster
• RCS water propulsion and reaction control
• LTA100 ionosphere generator
• Scientific instruments
• In-orbit propulsion
• Iodine propellant
• RF acceleration
• Turnkey propulsion products