Space companies team to provide more power for space travel – BizWest

BROOMFIELD—  CisLunar Industries, one of only a handful of aerospace companies in Loveland, will provide power processing units for Atomos Space’s next-generation orbital transfer vehicle (OTV), Quark, according to a news release. Quark performs rendezvous, docking, capture, and relocation of satellites in various Earth and beyond-Earth orbits.

Atomos Space, a Broomfield company that builds orbital transfer vehicles, uses high-power electric propulsion for Quark, and PPUs are a critical element of the propulsion system, the release stated. CisLunar’s PPU are much smaller and generate much less heat than traditional PPU’s. With CisLunar’s PPU system, the propulsion system can run at “higher power, higher efficiency, and higher reliability, while taking up less volume and mass on the spacecraft to enable Quark’s best-in-class performance, “ the release stated.

“We are thrilled to be working with CisLunar Industries to push the boundaries of orbital logistics,” said V”CisLunar Industries’ groundbreaking PPU technologies significantly increase our OTVs performance – so we can offer unprecedented delta-V and responsiveness to our customers,” Vanessa Clark, CEO of Atomos Space, said in the release.

CisLunar Industries’ PPU system uses new technologies like GaN transistors for the first time in a high-power PPU, enabling significant improvements in mass, power efficiency, and volume while maintaining the reliability required for critical missions. The first unit has already passed radiation testing. Quarks that incorporate this PPU unit are scheduled to begin commercial services in 2026, the release stated.