Spanish Space Tech Company Arkadia Space Tests Its First Hydrogen Peroxide Thruster In Orbit.

Co-founded in 2020 by Sergio Soler(CFO), Ismael Gutiérrez(CTO), Francisco Espinosa(Director of Mechanical Engineering), and Francho García(CEO), Arkadia Space tests its first hydrogen peroxide thruster in orbit.

Arkadia announced that its DARK propulsion system, launched in March aboard a D-Orbit ION vehicle, has completed in-orbit test firings. The system, delivering five newtons of thrust, executed both rapid pulses lasting tens of milliseconds and longer burns of up to five seconds. The performance of the thruster in space turned out to be the same as on the ground.

The test was performed in coordination with D-Orbit since the DARK system was a hosted payload on the ION vehicle and not part of that spacecraft’s propulsion system.

The company plans to continue testing the propulsion system for up to one year, depending on the status of the thruster and remaining fuel, to measure the long-term performance of the system.

The successful test marks a major milestone for Arkadia and the advancement of “green” propulsion systems, which use non-toxic propellants as safer alternatives to hydrazine.