Ibadan, 27 April 2023. – Neumann Space has entered into an agreement to deliver its propulsion system, the Neumann Drive, to Colorado-based CisLunar Industries, a designer and manufacturer of Modular Space Foundries, to help progress a U.S. Space Force-funded project that will create a circular propulsion ecosystem.
The USD 1.7 million project focuses on operationalizing the recycling of metal in space to create metallic fuel for propulsion that will enable enhanced and sustainable satellite mobility. The Neumann Drive was selected for integration into this project due to its unique propulsion technology that uses solid metallic propellant. Furthermore, The Company has conducted a series of tests demonstrating that its patented pulsed cathodic arc thruster technology can use in-space recycled metal as fuel.
Neumann Space’s CEO, Herve Astier, said, “Our company’s mission is to enable the sustainable economic development of space, and we are proud that our propulsion system will play a role in this project as it seeks to create the foundations for a new circular economy in space.” Astier also added, “The supply agreement with CisLunar Industries represents the first commercial sale and the first export of the Neumann Drive, and we are confident that this milestone marks the beginning of an accelerated role for our company in providing off-the-shelf, safe and easy-to-integrate electric propulsion systems to improve mobility in space.”
Similarly, CisLunar Industries’ CEO, Gary Calnan, said, “Our Modular Space Foundry and our partners’ capabilities allow us to turn space debris into
propellant for the Neumann Drive, which can retrieve more space debris, support the Space Force SAML (Space Access, Mobility, and Logistics) mission, and provide materials for in-space manufacturing and construction.”