Water-propelled thrusters could herald a new steam age in space

Record ID: 2367393

  • Title: Water-propelled thrusters could herald a new steam age in space
  • Date: 19th March 2026
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (MARCH 05, 2026) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DR MARCO PAVAN, STEAMJET SPACE SYSTEMS, SAYING:     "Water is actually a very good propellant. First of all it's absolutely green. So compared to hydrazine or hydrogen peroxide, you know, that you need a suit just to be in the same area with that. You can drink the propellant that we have in this propulsi
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Dr Marco Pavan SteamJet SteamJet Space Systems TunaCan Thruster steam propulsion in space
  • Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK / ANIMATION / UNKNOWN LOCATIONS / VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK / ANIMATION / UNKNOWN LOCATIONS / VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: UK
  • Topics: Europe,Science,Space Exploration
  • Reuters ID: LVA00A480217032026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: More than 200 years since the first one, a new age of steam is emerging, this time in space.
        Steam-powered thrusters, with tiny water tanks, are in orbit already and the technology could be the future of propulsion for the burgeoning CubeSat and wider small satellite sector which is seeing thousands of small satellite launches every year.
        Among those developing water-propelled thrusters are British startup SteamJet Space Systems, whose TunaCan Thruster, named because of its tuna can size, carries just 130 grams of water but can extend the life of a small satellite by years.
        "It's sort of a space kettle," Dr Marco Pavan, co-founder and CEO of SteamJet Space Systems, told Reuters.
        "What we do literally is we create steam and eject it. That's why the name SteamJet," Pavan said.
        The company's TunaCan Thruster is designed for the smallest CubeSats which are just 10cm across, while Steam Thruster One can power CubeSats and small satellites. The company says the external mounting preserves crucial internal volume for payloads and other spacecraft hardware. 
        "You need to be able to have a system on your satellite that can eventually make you change the orbit if you are in a collision orbit with another object and the only way you can do that is with an active propulsion system on board. So that's one of the main applications," Pavan said.
        The company says using water as a propellant is cheaper, easier and much more environmentally friendly than existing chemical systems, while producing thrust at a similar speed. 
        Pavan said SteamJet has seven thrusters currently in orbit and that the company's propulsion system will fly on one of the secondary CubeSat payloads on NASA's Artemis II mission, scheduled for April 2026.
    (Production: Stuart McDill)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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