VACCO Valves & Filters Utilized By All-Electric Propulsion System in Boeing Satellite ABS-2A

VACCO provided valves and filters for the all-electric propulsion system in the Boeing satellite ABS-2A which provides direct-to-home television services to customers in several regions including Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, Russia and parts of Asia.

Boeing is the first satellite manufacturer to design and deliver all-electric propulsion satellites and the ABS-2A is their second all-electric propulsion satellite. All-electric satellites can be launched in pairs and thereby provide cost savings to the customer.

VACCO’s expertise with satellites extends to providing propulsion systems for small satellites such as CubeSats and Nanosats. These satellites are used in space research. Their small size allows for cost efficiencies owing to lower fuel consumption and the possibility of simultaneous launches from a launch vehicle that can accommodate several small satellites. While the small size limits the number of instruments that can be carried by a small satellite, the fact that several small satellites can be launched together carrying different instruments compensates for the limitations of one.

VACCO provides a wide range of cold and warm gas propulsion systems for CubeSats. Our systems have supported government flights by the AFRL, NASA and NRO as well as commercial flights. Our JPL MarCO Micro Propulsion System will be deployed in the NASA MarCo mission scheduled for May 2018. This mission represents the first interplanetary CubeSat mission and aims to gather information about the interior structure of Mars.

Learn more about VACCO small satellite propulsion systems and the engineers helping to advance space exploration by making it more cost effective.