Portal Space Systems - Solar Thermal Propulsion Spacecraft

[matt19215]

New startup emerging from stealth, they plan to build a solar thermal propulsion satellite bus that they say can move from LEO to GEO within hours and cislunar orbit in days. They were founded in 2021 and came out of stealth this week, raising $3 million from the DoD and the Space Force.

Plan is a demonstration mission in late 2025.

Press release:
https://www.portalsystems.space/press-release

News:
https://spacenews.com/portal-space-systems-unveils-plans-for-highly-maneuverable-spacecraft/
https://payloadspace.com/introducing-portal-space-systems/
https://www.space.com/portal-space-systems-startup-out-of-stealth-mode
https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/30/portal-space-systems-unveils-supernova-an-ultra-mobile-spacecraft/

[edzieba]

Looks a lot like TransAstra's Omnivore thruster: also a solar-thermal propulsion system using two inflated reflectors. They also received a Space Force SBIR contract for it last March, though the contract value was not announced.