SBIR/STTR Research Award
Compact Stored Propellant Propulsion System for VLEO Satellites
Award amount
$1,699,936Program and phase
SBIR · Phase II – Direct to Phase IIAward year
2026Award details
- Awarding agency
- Department of Defense
- Branch
- Air Force
- Recipient company
- BUSEK CO., INC.
- Proposal award date
- 2026-01-23
- Contract end date
- 2027-07-22
- UEI
- SATYSBWG3FL7
- Solicitation number
- 25.4
- Topic code
- SF254-D803
Research abstract
Busek proposes to develop a novel fueled Hall thruster propulsion system for VLEO applications. The complete system will include a thruster (anode and cathode), propellant storage and feed system, and power electronics. This thruster will have high performance, similar to that of a xenon Hall thruster, but with vastly superior size, weight and power (SWaP). The centerpiece of this system is an extended lifetime Hall thruster which was developed and demonstrated with internal and commercial funds. The overall goal of the proposed D2P2 effort is to demonstrate a novel fueled propulsion system suitable for VLEO missions. Activities will include designing, building, and testing laboratory and engineering model hardware. Phase II would culminate with Technology Readiness Level 5-6 demonstration in a relevant environment
Technology keywords
Not reported
Other awards by this recipient
Verified by the same UEI. These are other public SBIR/STTR award pages, not a merged company record.
- Thermal Improvement on 1 Newton ASCENT Thruster Valve Assembly (TVA)
- High Total Impulse BET-MAX System for Small-Sat Deorbiting
- High Power Density 10 kW Power Processing Unit for High Power Hall Thrusters
- Qualification of a Satellite on Umbilical Line (SOUL) System for Active Debris Removal (ADR)
- Flexible Fuel Electron Source for Space Propulsion Systems
Awards with the same topic code
Verified by an exact topic code match. This is not a text-similarity match.
Research funding history
248 SBIR/STTR records share this UEI (1988–2026). Reported award amounts total $87,675,405. Reported amounts are not federal obligations.
Phases: Phase I, Phase II, Phase II – Direct to Phase II
Agencies: Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation