ASET Air-Scooping Electric Thruster
Viridian Space
Air-breathing electric propulsion system that harvests residual upper-atmosphere gas in Very Low Earth Orbit and converts it into thruster propellant, enabling refuelable, indefinite-duration VLEO satellite operations.
Typed specifications14 values
Discloses 4 of 10 fields engineers filter by in this category (category median 3).
- Propulsion family
- electric air-breathing electric propulsion · datasheet p.1 electric general
- Specific impulse
- 4 643 s minimum requirement with Cd=3.5 and scoop efficiency=0.3 · datasheet p.7 2 000 s operating with xenon
- Propellant
- other atmospheric gas (air-breathing electric propulsion) · datasheet p.2 other atmospheric gas collected by scoop | atmospheric gas general | air optimized | oxygen tested +1
- Power consumption
- 1 300 W GOCE-like satellite configuration, orbit-averaged · datasheet p.6
- Power at thrust
- 1 300 W orbit-averaged available power · datasheet p.6 1 300 W max · orbit-averaged available power
- PPU output power
- 1 300 W GOCE-like satellite configuration · datasheet p.6
Each value is typed with its unit and measurement condition and cites the datasheet page it was taken from. Nothing is guessed: a field that is absent here has not been published by the manufacturer. machine-extracted ✓ checked by NewSpace Market ✓ manufacturer confirmed by the manufacturer.
As published by the supplier4 lines, in the manufacturer's own wording
- Propulsion type
- Air-breathing electric thruster (ABEP)
- Propellant source
- Atmospheric gas collected in-orbit (no onboard propellant tank required)
- Target orbit regime
- Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO)
- Key applications
- Earth observation, broadband communications, in-orbit servicing/assembly/manufacturing (ISAM), active debris removal
About
The Air-Scooping Electric Thruster (ASET) is Viridian Space’s air-breathing electric propulsion concept for satellites operating in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). Instead of relying on a finite onboard propellant tank, an ASET-equipped spacecraft scoops the rarefied atmospheric gas present at VLEO altitudes and processes it into propellant for an electric thruster, giving the satellite an effectively continuous propellant supply for as long as it remains at low altitude. This removes the propellant-mass limit that normally caps a satellite’s maneuvering life and lets platforms stay at ultra-low altitudes indefinitely.
Operating at VLEO gives satellites higher-resolution Earth observation imagery and stronger broadband communications signal strength than equivalent payloads at higher LEO altitudes, because they are physically closer to the ground/user terminals. The continuous-thrust, refuelable nature of ASET is also intended to support in-orbit servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) missions and active debris-removal operations that require sustained low-altitude station-keeping and maneuvering. Viridian has published air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) performance analysis at the 2022 International Electric Propulsion Conference and tests thruster hardware in vacuum-chamber facilities at its El Segundo, California lab.
Documentation
Need the full ICD, test reports or a specific revision? Ask the supplier directly.