According to the company, over the next few weeks The Flying Object will deploy to Low Earth Orbit to validate its proprietary next-generation propulsion technologies enabling collision avoidance and de-orbiting.
Aurora’s satellite will deploy to Low Earth Orbit in a demonstration of the company’s resistojet thrusters and plasma brakes that provide efficient propulsion and deorbiting capabilities for small satellites.
The CubeSat will validate the water-based propellant and mobility control of its Resistojets that can assist CubeSats with detumbling capabilities and propulsion-based attitude control. The satellite will also test its deployable Plasma Brakes which combine a micro-tether with charged particles in space, or ionospheric plasma, to generate significant amounts of drag to deorbit the spacecraft safely at the end of its life.
“Our team has been working close to two years leading to the launch. This is a moment of great pride in our team to see the spacecraft lift off,” said Aurora founder and CEO, Roope Takala.
“Space sustainability is one of the most important challenges facing the industry as the orbital environment becomes more congested. We decided to back Aurora due to its proprietary technologies provide full life cycle space sustainability solutions,” said Artur Kluz, founder and CEO of Kluz Ventures, whose The Flying Object venture fund is supporting this project and offers strategic capital to the air and space ecosystem, including satellites, autonomy, drones, cyber security, AI data analytics and activities.
