This Cooperative Agreement award from the National Science Foundation (CFDA 47.084 - NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships) provides $1,000,000 in funding to Field Propulsion Technologies Inc., a small business based in Aurora, Colorado, to develop an advanced propulsion device prototype suitable for small satellite operations in orbit.
The key innovation is a new class of specially engineered metamaterial, based on a graphene composite, that utilizes unresolved longitudinal Ampere forces in conductors to produce thrust. This propellant-less propulsion system has the potential to revolutionize the space industry by reducing reliance on traditional propellants, lowering space mission costs, increasing mission flexibility, and extending spacecraft lifetimes. The Phase II project aims to scale up the technology prototype and validate it in conditions representative of the space environment, paving the way for integration into real satellite propulsion systems.
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