Cosmo Bee

Satellites require propulsion systems to change their orbits and extend their operational lifetimes. These systems are also essential for missions such as planetary exploration, asteroid mining and on-orbit servicing.

 

Electric propulsion offers long operating times by generating thrust with electrical rather than chemical energy. In theory, it can continue producing thrust as long as power is supplied.

 

Cosmo Bee develops satellite electric thrusters and, at the time of publication, was Korea’s only company specializing in Hall thruster development. Founded by five researchers from the KAIST Electric Propulsion Laboratory, the company aims to become indispensable as advances in small satellites and constellations increase demand for Hall thrusters in the NewSpace era.

 

◇ Founded in 2023: Hall Thrusters as a Core Subsystem for Small Satellites

 

Founded in July 2023, Cosmo Bee had been operating for less than a year when this article was published. The startup quickly demonstrated its potential by winning numerous awards. In August 2023, it received the Excellence Prize at the 3rd Nuclear Innovation Startup Contest hosted by the Korea Nuclear International Cooperation Foundation. The foundation is Korea’s only organization specializing in nuclear cooperation, covering international and educational cooperation, workforce development, radiation-technology exports and policy support.

 

In September, Cosmo Bee won the Grand Prize at the 2023 Aerospace Technology Startup Academy. Hosted by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the program was created to identify aerospace-based business models and promote entrepreneurship among people interested in aerospace technology.

 

The company received the Participation Award at the 2023 Startup Contest of Institutes of Science and Technology in October and the Grand Prize in the second half of the 2023 KAIST E5 competition in November. KAIST E5 is KAIST’s flagship startup program, providing promising teams with expert mentoring and commercialization support. Cosmo Bee was also selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ TIPS program.

 

CEO Dongha Park receiving the Grand Prize at the KAIST E*5 Startup Competition

 

Cosmo Bee’s Hall thruster uses electrical energy to maneuver satellites. Chemical propulsion is effective for rapid attitude control, whereas electric propulsion is better suited to orbit changes because it can operate continuously for long periods without the same chemical-energy constraints.

 

Hall thrusters have a simple ring-shaped structure, making them relatively easy to manufacture. They also generate greater thrust than other electric-propulsion systems at the same input power. As the most widely used form of electric propulsion since 2010, they have accumulated extensive space heritage. Hall thrusters are particularly valuable for small satellites. Falling launch costs and advances in small-satellite and AI technologies have shifted the space industry toward small-satellite constellations. These constellations enable low-Earth-orbit communications and real-time Earth observation, creating new space-industry business models.

 

Satellites in a constellation must maneuver while maintaining consistent spacing within the same orbit. In low Earth orbit, disturbances such as gravity and atmospheric drag gradually alter their trajectories, requiring continual orbit correction. Earth-observation satellites must also operate at lower altitudes to obtain higher-resolution imagery. Thrusters enable operation in very low Earth orbit and help achieve that resolution.

 

With Korean companies such as Nara Space and Lumir developing satellite businesses, Korea’s satellite market was expected to begin growing substantially from 2027. Demand was projected to be highest for satellites weighing less than 500 kg, increasing demand for electric thrusters accordingly. Domestic development is also important because Korea remains highly dependent on overseas electric-thruster suppliers. Military satellite missions, objectives, operating orbits and launch schedules are often classified. Purchasing propulsion systems overseas, however, may require this operational information to be shared with foreign suppliers.

 

◇ Multiple Thruster Models and a Track Record in Electric-Propulsion Projects

 

In 2022, the KAIST Hall-thruster research team was selected for the Basic Satellite category of the 6th CubeSat Competition hosted by KARI. This provided an opportunity to validate a Hall thruster in space using a CubeSat. The experience led the researchers to pursue commercialization, and five team members founded Cosmo Bee under CEO Dongha Park.

 

Cosmo Bee has baseline thruster designs covering various operating-power ranges. Its Hall-thruster test facilities include vacuum chambers, millinewton-class microthrust measurement systems and plasma-diagnostic equipment.

 

Cosmo Bee’s baseline thruster designs for a range of operating power levels

 

The company’s experts have extensive experience in satellite electric-propulsion projects. From 2014 to 2019, they conducted National Research Foundation of Korea research on plasma thrusters and cathodes for microsatellites. At KARI, they also developed a baseline design and magnetic-field optimization method for a 2 kW-class medium-to-large Hall thruster.

 

Their other experience includes international collaborative research integrating experiments and numerical simulations of microscale electric-thruster plasma characteristics; research on core cathode technology for ion-thruster discharge and neutralization; and the development and operation of the K-HERO CubeSat. At the time of publication, all five Cosmo Bee members were doctoral students in KAIST’s Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering.

 

CEO Dongha Park studied mechanical engineering at Korea University and earned a master’s degree in Nuclear and Quantum Engineering from KAIST. He was responsible for Hall-thruster system design and project management.

CTO Jaehong Park studied aerospace engineering at Korea Aerospace University and earned a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from KAIST.

 

Technical adviser Professor Wonho Choe had conducted satellite electric-propulsion research in Korea since the early 2000s. In 2013, he helped integrate a Hall thruster into the Science and Technology Satellite-3 (STSAT-3). He served as a professor in KAIST’s Department of Physics from 1997 to 2018 and was then a professor in its Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering. Jaejun Lee, head of R&D, was responsible for cathode design and system thermal analysis. He studied mechanical engineering at Korea Aerospace University and earned a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from KAIST.

 

Seongsu Kim, head of the Space Propulsion Team, oversaw Hall-thruster development and satellite power systems. He studied physics at Korea University and earned a master’s degree in Nuclear and Quantum Engineering from KAIST. Researcher Youngho Kim supported and coordinated work involving KAIST’s research facilities.

 

 

 

Original article : Cosmo Bee Develops Core Hall Thruster Technology, Leads Localization Efforts