Neumann Space, provider of in-space electric propulsion based in Australia, announced that they have successfully completed the initial testing of the Neumann Drive® ND-50 on the EDISON Satellite.
The EDISON Mission is a part of the European Space Agency’s Pioneer program, designed to support emerging companies seeking to provide new and innovative satellite communications technologies and services.
Space Inventor, a leading European manufacturer of micro satellites based in Denmark, designed and built the EDISON satellite based on their already demonstrated and proven 8U platform.
This in-orbit demonstration (IOD) partnership between Space Inventor and Neumann Space was announced mid-2023.
During 2024, Neumann Space worked closely with Space Inventor. Neumann Space flew its engineers to Aalborg to test, demonstrate and verify ease of integration and ease of operations of the Neumann Drive. The collaboration work on the ground went flawlessly with the integration and testing completed in a matter of hours.
EDISON was launched on January 14, 2025 onboard SpaceX Transporter 12 from launch complex SLC- 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
After commissioning of the satellite, the Neumann Space and Space Inventor teams were able to quickly run boot up and health checks and to confirm all communication systems were operational to command the propulsion system.
Space Inventor’s mission and payload operations provided Neumann Space with fast and easy access to the data of the Neumann Drive® automatically, enabling it to rapidly analyze all parameters.
The Neumann Drive ND-50 was fired several times on different orbits and Neumann Space is pleased to report that the propulsion system is healthy, working as expected, with all in-orbit parameters returning nominal values.
Neumann Space’s CEO, Herve Astier said, “We are thrilled to achieve this first success with Space Inventor. We are grateful that they trusted us to join the EDISON mission under the umbrella of the European Space Agency. Getting to successfully fire the Neumann Drive so quickly is a testament to the great work both teams have done in the lead up to this mission and to the quality and maturity of our respective technologies. We are fortunate to have had the support from Space Inventor and from the Australian Space Agency for this project and look forward to a very exciting testing campaign in the next few months onboard this satellite. With this 3rd flight, the Neumann Drive cements its status of space propulsion system with proven flight heritage with another in-orbit demonstration planned later this year. Neumann Space is now collaborating with a number of respected global satellite manufacturers and is continuing to improve the performance of the Neumann Drive with a growing product offering for various classes of satellites as we seek to deliver better mobility in space.”
Peter Davidsen, CTO of Space Inventor, added, “We are excited to see the Neumann Drive successfully operating onboard our Edison satellite as part of this ESA ARTES funded mission. These first firings mark a significant step in demonstrating advanced in orbit propulsion, and we are eager to continue testing its capabilities. This collaboration with Neumann Space highlights the potential for innovative propulsion solutions, and we look forward to exploring future opportunities together to enhance satellite mobility and sustainability in space.”
Neumann Space will now continue to test and operate the Neumann Drive jointly with Space Inventor over the coming months, with more extensive testing and validation of various case studies and simulation models helping to improve the performance of the Neumann Space products.