Cosmo Bee

| Developing Electric Thrusters, a Core Technology for Satellite Constellations…Step-by-Step In-Space Verification Through Nuri

| Accelerating Commercialization in the Ultra-Small Satellite Market…Taking on the Challenge of Changing the Structure of the Space Industry Through Lower Costs

 

Dongha Park, CEO of Cosmo Bee / Photo by Sinae Oh

 

Maeil Ilbo — By Sinae Oh | “The question is no longer simply how to reach space, but how to move once we are there.” Dongha Park, CEO of Cosmo Bee, described the latest shift in the space industry in these terms. Since the emergence of SpaceX, launch costs have fallen rapidly, making the efficient operation and maneuvering of satellites a new source of competitiveness. Amid this transformation, Cosmo Bee has chosen to focus on electric propulsion.

 

◇ Cosmo Bee Emerges in Satellite Electric Propulsion: Long-Duration Operation with Minimal Propellant

Cosmo Bee is a space startup developing electric thrusters for ultra-small satellites. An electric thruster is a space-propulsion device that uses electrical energy to accelerate and expel fuel. It can operate for long periods using much less fuel than conventional chemical-propulsion systems, making it a core technology in the expanding era of satellite constellations.

 

The space industry is rapidly being reorganized around satellite constellations. In the past, a single large satellite would be built at a cost of tens of billions of won and operated for an extended period. More recently, the industry has shifted toward systems in which numerous small satellites are launched simultaneously to provide real-time communications and observation. Because of the Earth’s rotation, the number of times a single satellite passes over the same area is limited. As a result, it is difficult to observe a specific area frequently using only one satellite.

 

Park explained. “Real-time communications and surveillance require the simultaneous operation of multiple satellites.” “As the number of satellites increases, demand for electric thrusters that maintain their orbits and enable orbital maneuvers will inevitably grow as well,” he added. Cosmo Bee is focusing particularly on the market for small satellites weighing up to 200 kg. Many existing electric thrusters developed by global defense companies were designed primarily for large satellites, leaving relatively few products optimized for smaller satellite platforms.

 

Honeybee, currently under development by Cosmo Bee, is an electric thruster designed to help small satellites maintain and change their orbits in space. Its ability to operate for long periods with substantially less propellant than conventional propulsion systems has made it a key technology for the expanding satellite constellation market. Electric thrusters generate thrust by applying electrical energy to a gaseous propellant, converting it into plasma and accelerating the resulting ions at high speed. Because they require far less propellant than chemical propulsion systems, they are attracting increasing attention as an enabling technology for satellite constellations. “The technology base required for this field is fundamentally different from that of conventional launch vehicles or satellites,” Park said. “We concluded that this specialized expertise could give a startup like ours a distinct competitive advantage.”

 

A Cosmo Bee Hall thruster was carried aboard KAIST’s K-HERO CubeSat on the fourth launch of Nuri in 2025. / Photo by Sinae Oh

 

◇ Consecutive Nuri Payloads to Verify the Technology…“We Will Change the Structure of the Space Industry”

Cosmo Bee originated from KAIST’s Electric Propulsion Laboratory. Most of its core members are researchers from the KAIST Satellite Electric Propulsion Laboratory. The company is developing a low-power Hall thruster using design data accumulated at KAIST and AI-based design methods.

 

The company is currently concentrating primarily on securing space heritage, or a track record in space. In the space industry, whether a technology has been verified in the actual space environment is considered a core source of competitiveness. Cosmo Bee is conducting step-by-step technology verification using Nuri launches. During the fourth launch of Nuri last year, Cosmo Bee’s Hall thruster was installed on KAIST’s K-HERO CubeSat. It was the first satellite carrying an electric thruster to be launched aboard a domestically developed launch vehicle.

 

The company plans to verify a hollow cathode during the fifth launch of Nuri, scheduled for this year, and a power-conversion device during the sixth launch of Nuri in 2027. Park explained, “Through the fourth, fifth and sixth launches, the core components of the electric thruster will be verified step by step in space. In effect, this is the process of building the space heritage of the entire product.” Cosmo Bee believes its product has now reached the stage immediately preceding commercialization. The company is expanding cooperation with satellite-system companies and preparing for installation aboard operational satellites.

 

Park said, “This year, we are focusing on meeting customer requirements and verifying reliability. We are preparing for our products to be applied to actual satellite-constellation projects beginning next year.” Cosmo Bee is also paying attention to the very low Earth orbit (VLEO) satellite market. VLEO refers to the region between 250 and 350 kilometers, which is lower than conventional low Earth orbit. Its proximity to Earth can improve image resolution and communications quality, but strong atmospheric drag requires continuous orbit maintenance. Electric thrusters are effectively essential. Park said, “In VLEO, the effects of radiation are relatively limited, increasing the possibility of using much less expensive components. In the long term, we are also considering expanding into low-cost satellite platforms.”

 

What Park ultimately wants to change is the structure of Korea’s space industry. Korea’s space industry currently revolves around projects that “must not fail.” The industry operates by winning government projects worth tens of billions of won and developing them over long periods. By contrast, SpaceX, which helped popularize the space industry, chose to mass-produce satellites at relatively low cost and improve them repeatedly. Park said, “We also need to move away from viewing satellites only as excessively expensive equipment and instead approach them like consumables. A structure in which we build many, test many and improve them quickly is ultimately what creates global competitiveness.”

 

 

 

Original article : “Carried Aboard Nuri Launches 4, 5 and 6”…Cosmo Bee CEO Dongha Park Nears Commercialization of Electric Thrusters