Plasmos Company to Provide Space Transportation Services and Deliver Cargo Back to Earth Using Space Trucks.
Plasmos’ Space Truck design. (Photo: Plasmos).
Space Trucks, powered by Plasmos’ dual-mode propulsion system, will transport cargo to an altitude of 1,400 kilometers, “enabling space manufacturing, last-mile delivery, point-to-point transportation, orbital maintenance, and debris collection,” shared Ali Baghchehsara, CEO of Plasmos, on February 9.
Different configurations of the 3D-printed Space Trucks will operate in low Earth orbit as cargo on launch vehicles. In the Flatbed configuration, the Space Truck can carry a satellite weighing 400 kilograms. In the Musketeer configuration, it has enough space for four 75-kilogram satellites and an additional 6 kilograms of cargo. For orbital maintenance, Plasmos plans to produce vehicles equipped with robotic arms to refuel satellites and repair spacecraft.
Plasmos’ vehicles also have the capability to land cargo in a one-square-kilometer area when returning to Earth. The company is set to conduct its first technology demonstration test flight in January 2024. The design introduced by the company is attracting attention from numerous potential customers and partners, including the U.S. government’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), which focuses on identifying commercial technologies that can be applied in the military.
Since its founding in 2021, Plasmos has made significant strides. Velo3D, a metal manufacturing startup collaborating with SpaceX and other launch service providers, is responsible for 3D printing the first Space Truck for Plasmos. During the test flight, Plasmos will transport RebelSat, a cubesat satellite created by students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to test a cold-gas propulsion engine.
