Japan funding water-based satellite propulsion upgrade
TAMPA, Fla. — Japan has awarded Tokyo-based small satellite thruster developer Pale Blue a grant worth up to $27 million to upgrade its water-based propulsion technology for larger spacecraft.
The four-year-old startup tested its Resistojet thruster in orbit for the first time in March, successfully using jets of steam to move a tiny 6U cubesat called Star Sphere.
Pale Blue recently started work on setting up a 2,000-square-meter factory to produce Resistojet thrusters, which are sized for satellites weighing less than 10 kilograms.
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