New Delhi: Manastu Space is an exciting NewSpace startup from Mumbai, that has its origins in IIT Bombay. The company has developed the Vyom 2U thruster, which was one of the 24 Payloads on the fourth PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) platform, which was the upper stage for the PSLV-C60/SpaDex mission, outfitted with capabilities for comms and power generation through solar panels. This upper stage is conventionally junked, and ends up as orbital debris, but ISRO is ingeniously using the platform to provide researchers and startups in the country to conduct experiments and demonstrate their hardware in space. Vyom 2U is an innovative ‘green’ propulsion system.
Conventionally, satellites use the toxic hydrazine fuel, which requires full-body protection to handle. As a result, fuelling up satellites is a hazardous operation. Manastu Space has developed environmentally-friendly green fuel, that is about as toxic as table salt, and one of the important components is the catalyst. Lead of the catalyst division at Manastu Space, Henry Sam says, “The catalyst is something that ignites or starts the reaction inside the chamber, which converts your liquid fuel into your gaseous product, which again, will be projected outside from the nozzle to give the thrust. This is the need for the catalyst in my system. This is what we are specifically designing and preparing in our subdivision.”
Thorough in-house testing
The development process for the catalyst requires rigorous in-house testing, and the development of protocols. Sam explains, “The best way to test any sort of material is testing the final product, in like the final environment where it will be, which is our thrusters. We started to establish our own protocol to test the mechanical strength of our material, we started to establish our own protocol to check how much thermal load the material can take. In that way, we started to build all our basic studies from our understanding, and then we came up with a certain set of protocols, which will streamline the material which is going to be used in the final thruster.” Manastu Space provides plug-and-play green propulsion systems for satellites, and has already delivered thrusters for use by the Indian defence establishment.