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ThrustMe

From Alfawiki
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article ThrustMe, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 9 August 202513 sources
ThrustMe
Company typePrivate
IndustryAerospace
Founded2017
FounderAne Aanesland, Dmytro Rafalskyi
Headquarters
France
ProductsGridded ion thrusters (NPT30), Cold gas thrusters (I2T5)

ThrustMe is a deep tech enterprise focused on developing compact aerospace thrusters tailored for small satellite applications, aimed at extending satellite operational duration while lowering expenses.[1][2] Their product line includes gridded ion thrusters (NPT30)[3] as well as cold gas thrusters (I2T5).[4]

History

Established in 2017 by Ane Aanesland and Dmytro Rafalskyi—both former researchers at École Polytechnique and CNRS with expertise in plasma physics and electric propulsion—ThrustMe began its journey within the Agoranov incubator.[5] That initial year, the firm secured €1.7 million to support its advancement efforts.[6]

In 2018, the company obtained €2.4 million in funding from the European Commission to bring electric propulsion technology for nanosatellites to market.[7]

The CEO, Ane Aanesland, was honored with the CNRS innovation medal in 2019 in recognition of her leadership in entrepreneurship.[8] That same year, ThrustMe collaborated with Spacety to perform the inaugural satellite maneuver utilizing iodine propellant via a cold-gas thruster.[9]

In 2021, a partnership between ThrustMe and Spacety showcased the pioneering in-orbit demonstration of an electric propulsion system powered by iodine propellant.[3][10][11] This achievement was documented in Nature, detailing orbital adjustments totaling more than 3 km in altitude change.[12]

The European Space Agency notes that substituting Xenon with iodine in gridded ion thrusters could revolutionize the industry by enabling small satellites to perform cost-efficient self-deorbiting maneuvers, thereby mitigating space debris through controlled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.[13]

Current

  • XiaoXiang 1-08, a six-unit cubesat developed by the Chinese firm Spacety, is outfitted with ThrustMe's pioneering I2T5 non-pressurized cold gas thruster.
  • BeiHangKongshi-1, a 12-unit cubesat created by Spacety, carries ThrustMe's NPT30-I2-1U iodine electric propulsion system, marking the first deployment of this technology in space. It was launched aboard a Long March 6 rocket on 6 November 2020 and is engaged in sophisticated orbital maneuvers to evaluate its performance.
  • Hisea-1, a 180-kilogram SAR minisatellite from Spacety, incorporates a NPT30-I2-1U thruster used for orbit upkeep, collision avoidance, and controlled deorbiting at mission end. It was deployed via a Long March 8 rocket on 22 December 2020 and supports maritime environmental studies.

Planned

  • NorSat-TD is a microsatellite constructed by the UTIAS Space Flight Laboratory for Norway's space agency. Though initially targeted for an early 2022 launch, it was ultimately sent to orbit in 2023.
  • GOMX-5 is a 12U cubesat developed by GomSpace under contract with the European Space Agency, intended as a platform for technology demonstration. Its launch was anticipated in 2021.
  • INSPIRESat-4/ARCADE, a 27U spacecraft jointly developed by NTU, Jülich Research Centre, LASP, IISST, and NCU, is designed to operate within Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) for measuring ionospheric plasma. The onboard thruster will reduce its altitude below 300 km to extend mission duration beyond six months. Launch was scheduled for 2022.

Awards

  • Recipient of the French Tech Ticket in 2017.
  • Winner of the "Grand Prix i-LAB" at the 19th national contest recognizing innovative technology startups in 2017.
  • Awarded the "Prix de l'Excellence Française Innovation Spatiale" in 2017.
  • Founder Ane Aanesland received the "Médaille de l’innovation du CNRS" in 2019.

References

  1. ↑ Lestavel, Thomas (2019-04-17). "La start-up ThrustMe divise par trois les coûts d'accès à l'espace". Le Figaro.fr (in français). Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  2. ↑ "How Iodine Electric Propulsion Systems Can Enable The Economic Sustainability Of Satellite Constellations". satmagazine.com. February 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "French startup demonstrates iodine propulsion in potential boost for space debris mitigation efforts". Spacenews. 2020-03-25. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  4. ↑ "Iodine Impulse for Smallsats Demo'd On-Orbit by ThrustMe and Spacety". Smallsat News. 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  5. ↑ Meddah, Hassan (2017-07-08). "ThrustMe emmène les minisatellites en orbite". L'Usine Nouvelle (in français). Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  6. ↑ "French startup raises $1.9 million for smallsat electric propulsion". SpaceNews.com. 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  7. ↑ "Electric propulsion startup ThrustMe gets $2.8 million from European Commission". SpaceNews.com. 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  8. ↑ "Ane Aanesland, de chercheuse au CNRS à CEO de ThrustMe | Bpifrance servir l'avenir". www.bpifrance.fr (in français). 10 July 2019. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  9. ↑ Couto, Alexandre (2019-11-04). "ThrustMe met en orbite le premier satellite utilisant de l'iode pour se propulser". Industry-techno (in français). Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  10. ↑ "ThrustMe's Iodine Propulsion System Launched Aboard Spacety's Smallsat". Satnews. 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  11. ↑ "Iodine thruster could slow space junk accumulation". esa.int. 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  12. ↑ Rafalskyi, Dmytro; Martínez Martínez, Javier; Habl, Lui; Zorzoli Rossi, Elena; Proynov, Plamen; Boré, Antoine; Baret, Thomas; Poyet, Antoine; Lafleur, Trevor; Dudin, Stanislav; Aanesland, Ane (17 November 2021). "In-orbit demonstration of an iodine electric propulsion system". Nature. 599 (7885): 411–415.
  13. ↑ "Iodine thruster used to change the orbit of a small satellite for the first time ever". https://www.esa.int. 22 January 2021. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)

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