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Spinoff story
Water-Powered Engines Offer Satellite Mobility
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Thrusters powered by electrolyzed water have been integral to NASA’s plans for deep-space exploration since the 1960s. With funding from SBIR contracts with Ames Research Center and through NASA’s Tipping Point solicitation, Tethers Unlimited Inc. of Bothell, Washington, has built the first practical water-electrolysis engines. Electrolysis separates water into oxygen and hydrogen, which NASA has long used for rocket fuel. It’s safe and easy to store and can likely be foraged from asteroids and other bodies in space. An early application is CubeSat thrusters.