---
title: "Startup Tests Water Plasma Propulsion in Orbit"
description: "For the first time in history, a startup called Momentus is testing a new in-orbit water plasma propulsion system to maneuver satellites."
date: "2019-09-27"
modified: "2019-09-27"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/startup-water-plasma-propulsion-orbit"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "propulsion"
  - "satellites"
  - "the digest"
  - "water power"
---

# Startup Tests Water Plasma Propulsion in Orbit

![For the first time in history, a startup called Momentus is testing a new in-orbit water plasma propulsion system to maneuver satellites.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/startup-tests-water-plasma-propulsion-in-orbit.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Momentus\</em\>*

## Water Propulsion

A startup called Momentus [is testing](<https://spacenews.com/momentus-el-camino-real-results/>) a new in-orbit water plasma propulsion system to maneuver satellites.

And early rounds of tests have gone without any major hurdles — and the trials mark the first time in history that water plasma propulsion has been used by a spacecraft, according to the company.

https://twitter.com/momentusspace/status/1171172437930717184

The system was developed to move micro-satellites between levels of orbit, from where they were dropped off to where they're needed to operate.

"Water plasma propulsion is now technologically mature enough to be baselined for operational in-space transportation missions," Momentus CEO Mikhail Kokorich [told *SpaceNews*](<https://spacenews.com/momentus-el-camino-real-results/>).

## Microwave Thrusters

The startup has been testing the propulsion system on their [El Camino Real](<https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/momentus-x1.htm>) — also known as Momentus X1 — spacecraft that launched on a Russian Soyuz rocket in July 2019.

The microwave-sized cubesat spacecraft uses water as a fuel to power its microwave electrothermal thruster to cycle between orbits.

Even freezing lines of propellant couldn't stop the spacecraft.

"The system proved to be highly resilient and post-freezing, all units were successfully verified to operate as expected," Kokorich told *SpaceNews*.

**READ MORE:** [Momentus reports success in testing water plasma propulsion](<https://spacenews.com/momentus-el-camino-real-results/>) \[*Space News*\]

**More on space propulsion:***[“Solar Sail” Spacecraft Climbs Two Miles of Orbit Using Sun Power](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/solar-sail-lightsail-2-miles-sun-power>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)