Startup Magdrive claims to have developed a satellite that could one day be used to clean up space junk — by gobbling dead satellites.
A British startup called Magdrive claims to have developed a satellite that uses solid metal as a source of fuel. Its founder says it could even one day be used to clean up space junk — by gobbling up dead satellites and using them for propulsion.
As CNN reports, the company came up with a propulsion system, dubbed Warlock, that ionizes solid metal, instead of current electric systems that generate power by ionizing pressurized gas.
The goal is to balance efficiency with power output.
« Chemical propulsion has very high thrust, but its efficiency — or its miles per gallon, if you like — is very poor », Magdrive founder Mark Stokes told CNN. « On the other hand, electric propulsion systems these days have the complete opposite characteristics. They have very low thrust, but excellent efficiency, excellent miles per gallon. »
« We’re building the first system of its kind that has the best of both worlds », he added.
