Neumann Space licenses DiskSat for flat electric propulsion

(SpaceEnergy) Australian electric propulsion developer Neumann Space has licensed The Aerospace Corporation’s DiskSat technology to integrate its Flatypus propulsion system with the flat spacecraft architecture.

The Adelaide, South Australia-based company said the commercial licence creates a pathway for DiskSat platforms to be manufactured in Australia and further developed with Neumann Space propulsion.

Flatypus is a low-profile version of the Neumann Drive developed specifically for DiskSat and other planar spacecraft. It uses solid metallic propellant and eliminates conventional propellant tanks, plumbing and fluid-management hardware.

DiskSat is an approximately 1m-diameter, stackable spacecraft architecture developed by Aerospace with NASA and US Space Force Space Systems Command. Its large surface area supports body-mounted solar power generation while allowing multiple spacecraft to be densely stacked for launch.

Neumann Space said the propulsion system is designed to match DiskSat’s solar-power capability and geometry while preserving payload volume. The combined architecture, called Neumann Drive enabled DiskSat, is intended for applications including communications, Earth observation, space domain awareness and very low Earth orbit missions.