Contact Busek Co, Inc  |   11 Tech Circle, Natick, MA 01760   |  508.655.5565 Home  |  Contact First Flight Electrospray Thruster, Lisa Pathfinder (delivered, 2008) In 2008 Busek delivered to NASA a pair of electrospray thruster clusters for the NASA/ESA Lisa  Pathfinder mission, ST7.  This technology demonstration mission has been undertaken to prepare for the  Laser Interferometry Space Antenna (LISA), which is a gravity wave observatory.  Albert Einstein  predicted the existence of gravitational waves - ripples in space and time - in 1915, occuring as the result  of events such as closely-orbiting binaries, black hole mergers and the aftermath of the Big Bang.  Learn  more about this exciting program at JPL’s official LISA website.    In order to measure gravity waves, the satellites must be in a completely noise-free environment - even  the solar pressure from the sun must be eliminated.  The purpose of the Busek Electrospray Thrusters is  to counteract miniature disturbance forces in a very precise manner (requiring accuracy on the order of  100 nano-Newtons).  The culmination of a 6-year development effort, with its genesis as a Phase 1 SBIR  (JPL), the Electrospray Thruster Clusters comprise complete systems of thrusters, feed systems,  propellant storage, power electronics, and digital control interface unit.  They are scheduled to launch on  an ESA spacecraft in 2011.    In recognition of this ground-breaking technical effort, Busek received the 2008 paper of the year award  by the AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference Electric Propulsion Technical Committee.     Busek has leveraged the core electrospray technology into less precise, high thrust electrospray  thrusters that can be used to meet general propulsion needs, including CubeSat propulsion. Flight Programs Artist’s conception of the LISA mission (photo courtesy of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory) 3D Model of the Busek Colloid MicroNewton Thruster (CMNT) Two flight hardware CMNT clusters deliverd to JPL and the European Space Agency for integration on Lisa Pathfinder Home  >>  Flight Programs  >>  Lisa Pathfinder Home  | Download Flight Programs Brochure FalconSat-3 Press Release TacSat-2 Press Release