Fuel-Flexible Spacecraft Electric Propulsion System

STTR · Phase: BOTH · Topic DPA26TZ06-DV005 · Solicitation 26.TZ

Spacecraft electric propulsion (EP) systems typically rely on noble gas fuels (xenon, krypton, argon) stored in high pressure tanks. These fuels are unattractive for sustained ambient-air operation in very Low Earth Orbit (vLEO), or for liquid refueling operations in higher orbits using water or chemical rocket fuels as output propellants. Furthermore, thruster development to date has been highly specific to individual fuels, requiring costly development of entirely new systems for new propellants—for example, optimizing for air in a vLEO environment versus water in a possible future higher orbit refueling architecture. These dependencies limit total propulsive capability and overall mission flexibility and responsiveness. This topic seeks a system able to operate on air (20-50% O2, balance N2), water (H2O), mixtures of water and carbon dioxide (CO2) derived from combusted hydrocarbons, or nitrogen-hydrogen mixtures derived from decomposed NH3 (ammonia) or N2H4 (hydrazine), using as much shared componentry as possible. Developing a flexible fuel EP system capable of accepting a variety of molecular propellants offers a unique capability for a single product line to serve a significantly larger mission space and total addressable market. This STTR topic seeks to develop a complete, integrated fuel-flexible propulsion system that bridges the gap between laboratory demonstration and fieldable spacecraft technology capable of utilizing in-situ resources.

SBIR/STTR 은 미국 중소기업만 지원할 수 있습니다(Small Business Act 법정 요건). • 계열사를 포함해 상시 종업원 500명 이하 • 미국 시민 또는 영주권자 1인 이상이 50%를 초과해 직접 소유·지배 • 미국 내 사업장을 두고 주로 미국 내에서 사업을 영위할 것 • 수행책임자(PI)의 주된 근무처가 신청 기업일 것 출처: https://www.sbir.gov/faq/eligibility-requirements

Primary country

🇺🇸 United States

Also eligible

None

Foreign companies

No

Local entity

Required

Location condition

미국 내 사업장을 두고 미국 시민·영주권자가 50%를 초과해 소유한 중소기업만 신청할 수 있습니다(법정 요건).

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Official URL

https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/topics-app/

Application URL

https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/topics-app/

Last fetched

2026.10.07

Human review

Not reviewed — check the official announcement

First seen

2026.10.07

Data status

Auto-collected, not reviewed

AI enrichment

Needs verification