Mission extension
Use remaining propellant to keep a short-lived smallsat useful after drag and perturbation have eaten the original orbit.
Status update · August 26, 2026
A water thruster small enough for a PocketQube.
InductoJet superheats liquid water in a tiny tube and exhausts it through a de Laval nozzle. Theoretical performance is enough for mission extension, collision avoidance, and active de-orbiting — with no pressure vessel and a 5 cm × 5 cm × 1 cm envelope.
Mission use
Enough impulse where small satellites need it.
Collision avoidance
Millinewton-class thrust for conjunction response on platforms that cannot carry a conventional cold-gas or monopropellant system.
Active de-orbiting
A compact, non-pressurized water store for end-of-life disposal instead of relying on residual drag alone.
Specifications
Theoretical performance
First-order targets for the PocketQube-class unit. Values are theoretical pending hardware characterization.
Specific impulse
100–120
s
Thrust
1–2
mN
Total impulse
24
N·s
Power
2–10
W
Form factor
5 × 5 × 1
cm
Technology
Superheated water, inductively heated.
Liquid water is stored unpressurized in a reservoir, isolated by a check valve. A short tube is inductively heated so the water flashes to high-temperature vapor, then expands through a de Laval nozzle.
- No pressure vessel — water is the propellant, which simplifies regulation and cost.
- Inductive, not resistive — heat is coupled into the element without a wired filament in the flow path.
- 3D-print first — as much of the stack as possible is printed, including high-temperature polymer heater geometry.
Project goals
Designed around smallsat constraints.
PocketQube form factor
Stay inside a 5 cm square, 1 cm-thick package so the thruster can sit on the smallest platforms.
Inductive heating
Heat the working fluid inductively rather than with a resistive element in the tube.
Thrust vectoring
Build pointing into the architecture instead of treating the jet as a fixed axis.
Regulatory simplicity
Avoid a pressure vessel and use water so range safety and shipping stay tractable.
Additive manufacturing
Print as much of the hardware as the thermal and fluid path will allow.
Progress
Lab and first hardware.
-
Lab
In-house tools now include SLA and FDM printers, a galvo laser, an oven, and a sputterer.
-
Analysis
First-order modeling of the thermal and propulsion case is complete.
-
Done
Heating element geometry successfully FDM-printed in a high-temperature polymer.
-
In progress
Classic PDMS microfluidic layout under test; heater assembly underway.
Next
From element to flight.
- Optimize the heating element
- CFD of the tube and nozzle
- SBIR proposal
- Valve
- Reservoir
- Control system
- Fly
Contact
Talk to the principal investigator.
InductoJet is in active laboratory development. For technical discussion, collaboration, or SBIR partnership, reach Shomir Banerjee directly.