TILE Ionic Liquid Electrospray Thruster
Accion Systems
Accion Systems' TILE electrospray ion thruster — a propellant-free, solid-state thruster for CubeSats and small satellites using ionic liquid propellant in a film.
Key figurescomparable across the catalogue
- Mass
- 1.25 kg
- Power
- 1 W
- Thrust
- 0 N
- Specific impulse
- 800 s
Normalised to common units so this product can be compared with others in its category. The supplier's own wording is below.
As published by the supplier
- Propellant type
- Ionic liquid (solid-state chip, no pressurized gas)
- Thrust range
- 0.05–1 mN per module
- Specific impulse
- 800–2,000 s
- Power
- 1–20 W
- Safety
- No pressurized tanks, no valves, no moving parts — rideshare safe
- Applications
- Orbit raising, attitude control, formation flying, deorbit
- Founded
- 2014 (MIT spin-out), Somerville, MA, USA
About
TILE (Tiled Ionic Liquid Electrospray) is Accion Systems’ electrospray propulsion unit for CubeSats and small satellites. Unlike conventional ion thrusters that use pressurized xenon gas, TILE uses a solid ionic liquid propellant chip — no valves, no pressurized tanks, and no moving parts — making it inherently safe for rideshare launches and mechanically simple. The propellant is an ionic liquid (a salt that is liquid at room temperature) that wicks to the tips of an array of emitter cones; a high-voltage electric field then ejects ions to produce thrust.
TILE produces thrust in the range of 0.05–1 mN per module at specific impulses of 800–2,000 s, operating on power levels from 1–20 W. Multiple TILE modules can be combined for larger satellites. Applications include orbit raising, attitude control (replacing reaction wheels for drag-free operation), formation flying maintenance, and end-of-life deorbit compliance. The solid-state nature eliminates concern about propellant leaks (an FAA/launch vehicle safety concern).
Accion Systems was founded in 2014 as an MIT startup, spun out of the MIT Space Propulsion Laboratory (Lozano Group). The company is headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, has flown TILE on multiple CubeSats, and has US military and commercial constellation customers.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.