Date: Apr 15, 2012 Source: MDA (
click here to go to the source)
Frontier Engineering, Inc. (Simi Valley, CA), has developed a technology that could provide space savings in the propulsion systems used by commercial satellites.
The technology, a system developed with help from an MDA SBIR Phase II contract in 2007, replaces stored pressurized gas on satellites with a warm-gas generator for moving propellants from storage tanks to thrusters.
On commercial satellites, the approach could reduce space needs for some components by 25 percent, according to the company. Saved space could then be used for additional propellant or for other components and capabilities. Some of the intellectual property behind the technology already has been acquired by a major aerospace manufacturer, and Frontier Engineering continues to focus on expanding and diversifying through capital investments and new partnerships.
