Ibadan, 26 June 2024. – ThrustMe, a pioneering leader in satellite space propulsion systems, proudly announces celebrating one year of successfully ramping up to reach industrial-scale production. This achievement testifies to ThrustMe’s leadership in producing the highest number of gridded ion thrusters to date and the only successfully demonstrated iodine-fed propulsion system worldwide.
This milestone comes when the space sector is transitioning into the “industrial space area”. With over 10,000 operational satellites today and the growing demand for daily automated and autonomous manoeuvers to ensure safety and performance, ThrustMe offers a comprehensive solution — with products adapted to simplified integration, launch and operations in space.
ThrustMe’s flagship product, the NPT30-I2, is a result of a disruptive innovation, dating back from its inception in 2017. The NPT30-I2 has undergone a rapid development cycle, achieving its first flight model by 2020, completing lifetime testing by 2021, and reaching industrialization by 2023. As of early 2024, ThrustMe is on track to successfully meet the goal of producing 1 unit per day by 2025, totaling an impressive 365 units per year. This swift progress was made possible through an agile development approach and innovative project phase loops.
“NPT30-I2 production line with a sub-assembly strategy enables us to achieve higher efficiency, better quality control, and greater flexibility in meeting customer demands. In addition, for productivity purposes, we apply a ‘one piece flow’, for all sub and final assemblies, which allows us to reduce production cycle time and also reduce our stock level.” notes Jean-Luc Lacote, Head of Production at ThrustMe.” “To limit the impacts and risks linked to the shortage of components, we work with multiple suppliers for each part, including local ones whenever possible. This enables us to reduce the CO2 impact of deliveries, and also improve the quality and responsiveness of our suppliers,” Lacote also adds.
“Transitioning from product development to industrialization is a challenge for all industries. In the space industry, we also need to combine the stringent requirements for space quality with the need for short lead time and predictable competitive prices.” Said Ane Aanesland, CEO and co-founder of ThrustMe.
