The Spanish startup Arkadia Space has successfully tested the engine it developed in orbit, which uses hydrogen peroxide as fuel. 9 the company announced in June, that her propulsion system is DARK, built into the D-Orbit ION device, launched in March, conducted a series of test launches in orbit. Arcadia informed, that the system, equipped with an engine, which generates a thrust of five newtons, executed like hundreds of very short pulses, that worked for tens of milliseconds, as well as longer "stationary" launches lasting up to five seconds.
Franco Garcia, chief executive officer and co-founder of Arkadia Space, recently stated in an interview, that the purpose of this test campaign was to compare engine performance in space with previous ground tests. "We discovered, that the flight data coincides with the ground data", - he said about the performance of the engine in space. "To be honest, it's much better, than we expected".
He noted, that these tests were coordinated with D-Orbit, since the DARK system was placed as a payload on the ION ship, rather than part of that spacecraft's own propulsion system. According to him, the two companies worked well together during the test campaign.
"We are proud of that, that placed the DARK module of the Arkadia Space company on board our satellite carrier ION", Matteo Andreas Lorenzoni said, Vice President of Commercial Strategy at D-Orbit. "From the very beginning, cooperation with the Arkadia team has been a real pleasure, and every step of our cooperation was useful". Garcia said, that Arkadia plans to continue testing the propulsion system for one year, depending on engine condition and fuel remaining, to measure the long-term performance of the system.
This test is an important milestone for both Arkadia, as well as for the development of so-called "green" propulsion systems, which use non-toxic fuels as an alternative to hydrazine. He said, that the company has demonstrated the benefits of green propulsion systems, including easier and less expensive refueling during pre-launch preparation, preparing the ION craft for launch as part of the SpaceX Transporter-13 mission from Vandenberg Space Base.
"In Vandenberg, we demonstrated, that we can dramatically reduce the cost of operations", he said. "It was already a successful achievement for us". Garcia said, that easier control is a key argument for satellite developers, especially those, who wants to participate in joint SpaceX launches. According to him, SpaceX has limited the number of times, when its customers can launch satellites with hydrazine because of additional costs. “Several customers in the US have told us, that they need to switch to ecological technologies, otherwise they won't be able to participate in every SpaceX launch".
Arcadia is also seeing interest in its hydrogen peroxide propulsion systems from launch vehicle and return capsule developers, in particular, in February, an agreement was signed for the supply of reaction control system engines for the MaiaSpace reusable launch vehicle, which is being developed. He noted, that these customers are not concerned about the life of the engines, as they are used in short missions.
"We believe, what about the data, which we have", - he said about testing the engine in orbit, - "we should have no problems signing contracts with the first customers".
Source: https://spacenews.com/arkadia-space-tests-its-first-hydrogen-peroxide-thruster-in-orbit/