The Project

Our mission is to develop the tiniest, most powerful and versatile space propulsion system.

Our first solution, ALEXIUS, is so tiny to fit within nanosats and so powerful as to allow micro-minisats the speedy accomplishment of high thrust manouvres.

In about 0.6-0.7 cubesat units (fuel excluded), and 1.3-1.5kg of weight, up to +3N of thrust may be delivered, with specific impulse greater than 300s.

The system, protected by 5 international patents, among which one already granted in Italy, Japan and India, has the goal of TRL=7 by Q3/2025.

ALEXIUS allows to:

All that make it ideal for commercial, scientific, intelligence, defence and security applications.

This project, which started in march 2019, has already won many innovation awards and has received expressions of interest for hundreds of satellites worldwide.

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Our second solution, ALBIREO, the ALEXIUS upgrade, will allow, with only one propulsion concept, both low and high-thrust manouvres (attitude, control and orbit changing), lowering the overall weight and complexity.

This innovative comprehensive system is already under development.

ALEXIUS and ALBIREO can be installed on satellites, their carriers, on interplanetary drones, on launchers’ last stages and on re-entry systems.

Miprons USP

Miprons vs. Electrical & Hydrazine Propulsion Systems

MIPRONS technology differs from electric (fed by xenon or water) and hydrazine propulsion systems for technological, procedural, and commercial reasons.

MIPRONS provides significantly higher thrust with the same electrical input power compared to electrical systems, all while maintaining lower volumes and weights. Higher thrusts enable quicker satellite maneuvers, enhancing their safety, reliability, operational life, and profitability.

Another key advantage of MIPRONS is the absence of electrical magnetic interference (EMI), a major issue in electric propulsion. EMI, along with propellant leakage, accounts for 42% of smallsats failures [NASA-2018]. To mitigate EMI, satellite designers are often obliged to make architectural choices that can compromise design, reliability and operation, as deployable mechanical arms to distance them from the payload.

An extremely important point is that electric thrusters need significant amounts of power to operate. In fact, to generate thrust, they go through energy-intensive processes such as ionization-neutralization. Moreover, if electrical systems adopt water as a propellant, supplementary electrical power is needed for electrolysis and dissociation processes.

Additionally, using xenon as a propellant introduces further complexities, such as the need for high-pressure tanks (heavy and non-optimal shape factors) and associated pressure and thermal control systems, along with higher costs compared to water.

On the other hand, the employment of such a toxic propellant as hydrazine requires to consider, along with the propellant cost itself, additional higher costs due to various supply chain/regulatory risks that can be easily avoided by using water.

Indeed, Hydrazine and its derivatives are hazardous because of their reactivity, flammability, and toxicity, obliging to be stored and disposed of in exclusionary zones, slowing down launch readiness operations.

In addition, the European Commission is contemplating banning hydrazine (it has already been banned at some launch facilities) by classifying it within REACH – Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals.

Finally, hydrazine is explicitly listed in the Annex 1 of the EU Reg. 821/2021 regarding Dual Use Goods. Therefore, its export requires specific authorization.