Thrusters

Rubicon’s line of advanced, high-performance thrusters delivers unprecedented performance with true monopropellant simplicity. By harnessing ASCENT (AF-M315E) – a safe, long-term-storable propellant jointly developed by AFRL and NASA – each thruster eliminates the handling risks and system complexity of traditional bipropellant engines.

Our portfolio spans the flight-proven 0.1N thruster, the versatile 1N and 5N thrusters, and the large 110N thruster. Each thruster was meticulously design to minimize pre-heating power requirements, and maximize the operational envelope. Backed by a team with over 35 years of combined propulsion experience and ongoing support from NASA, AFRL and MDA, Rubicon’s ASCENT thrusters’ power smallsat and large spacecraft missions alike.

0.1N Thrusters

1N Thrusters

Thruster Comparison Chart

ATTRIBUTE 0.1N HT 1N LT 1N HT 5N LT 5N HT 22 N LT 110N LT
TRL 9 6 6 6  6  4 5
PMI F E E E E D E
Thrust Range 0.1 N (.03 - .15 N) 1 N (.2 – 1.1 N) 1 N (.2 – 1.1 N)

5 N(.6 – 6 N)

5 N (.6 – 6 N) 22 N (2.5 - 25 N) 110N (10 - 110N)
Inlet Pressure (Untrimmed) 8 bar 20 bar 20 bar 20 bar 20 bar 20 bar 20 bar
Specific Impulse > 195 s > 250 s > 250s > 250s > 250s > 250s > 250s
Throughput > 3 kg > 5 kg > 14 kg > 10 kg > 50kg* > 50kg* > 50kg*
Heater Power (mininum) 6 - 8 W ~ 15 W ~ 15 W  ~ 25 W ~ 25 W ~ 40 W* < 100 W
Pre-Heat Time (@ min power) < 5 min < 15 min < 15 min < 15 min < 15 min < 15 min < 20 min
Single Burn Duration (tested) 6,000 s > 300 s > 300 s > 300 s > 300 s > 300s* > 300s*
MIB < 1.6 mNs < 0.05 Ns < 0.05 Ns < 0.05 Ns < 0.05 Ns < 0.1 Ns TBD
Mass (with valve) < 60 g < 250 g ~ 250 g < 300 g < 300 g ~500 g < 2 kg