B20 Thruster
Dawn Aerospace
A 20 N-class green bipropellant thruster from Dawn Aerospace using non-toxic nitrous oxide and propene propellants, designed for reliable, repeatable spacecraft propulsion from ground testing through on-orbit operations.
Technical specifications
- Thrust range
- 6.46-18.11 N
- Specific impulse (vacuum)
- 240-285+ s
- Propellant
- Nitrous oxide oxidizer / propene fuel, self-pressurizing non-toxic bipropellant
- Restarts
- 10,000+ per thruster, unlimited cold starts
- Ignition type
- Spark-based, cold-start to full thrust in under 100 ms
- Dry mass
- 695 g
- Construction
- Additively manufactured (3D printed) Inconel 718
- Firing modes
- Bipropellant and cold-gas, switchable
- Flight heritage
- 160+ Dawn B-series thrusters launched to orbit on 55+ satellites via SpaceX Transporter, Starlink rideshare, Rocket Lab Electron, and Arianespace Vega; customers include Pixxel, Sidus Space, Blue Canyon Technologies, AstroForge, CNES, and ESA
About
The B20 is Dawn Aerospace’s 20 Newton-class green chemical thruster, built as a core building block of the company’s modular satellite propulsion line alongside the B1, B5, and B200 thrusters. It integrates the thruster body, four normally-closed solenoid valves, and control electronics into a single additively manufactured Inconel 718 structure. The B20 uses a self-pressurizing bipropellant combination of nitrous oxide oxidizer and propene fuel, offering a non-toxic alternative to traditional hydrazine propulsion, which simplifies ground handling, storage, and launch integration. It supports both bipropellant and cold-gas firing modes, spark-based ignition with cold-start to full thrust in under 100 milliseconds, and is rated for 10,000+ restarts per thruster with unlimited cold-start capability, making it suitable for rendezvous, proximity operations, fine pointing, orbit-raising, deorbiting, and station-keeping. The thruster targets small to large satellites requiring substantial orbital maneuvers. Over 160 Dawn B-series thrusters have been launched to orbit aboard 55+ satellites across four launch vehicle families, with more than 30 customers globally including Pixxel, Sidus Space, Blue Canyon Technologies, Infinite Orbits, AstroForge, CNES, and ESA.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.