A Japanese propulsion firm growing water-based thrusters is about to check its system on a Sony nanosatellite launched earlier this month.
Pale Blue was chosen by Sony to supply in-orbit propulsion for its Star Sphere mission, which is able to provide nonetheless pictures and 4K video companies for creative and academic use and supply “space perspectives.”
Sony’s first satellite for the mission launched together with 113 different satellites atop a Falcon 9 rocket on SpaceX’s Transporter 6 mission on Jan. 3. The 6U cubesat is called Star Sphere-1 and carries a full-frame digital camera.
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The satellite can be outfitted with a Pale Blue water vapor propulsion system, which might be used for the corporate’s first in-space demonstration of its water engine on the finish of January.
In accordance with Pale Blue, the small thruster will delay the satellite’s lifetime by 2.5 years by serving to it keep its orbit. The corporate says that water-vapor propellant presents an environmentally pleasant answer to the rising demand for small satellites with built-in thrusters.
“I’m more than happy that our protected, sustainable and low-cost water thruster can contribute to this mission, and we’re dedicated to the event of the space trade,” Jun Asakawa, CEO and co-founder of Pale Blue, stated in a statement (opens in new tab).
Pale Blue was based in 2020 and is growing a variety of water-based propulsion methods constructing on analysis carried out by the Japanese space company JAXA and the College of Tokyo.
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