MAI Develops Engine for CubeSats, Extending Their Active Lifespan
Specialists at the Moscow Aviation Institute have developed an electric rocket propulsion system for small CubeSat-format satellites. The new system will allow spacecraft to stay in orbit significantly longer and perform debris avoidance maneuvers.
Analytical Note: An Insider's View on the MAI 'CubeSat Engine'
Status: Technical memorandum for venture funds and space startups.
Author: Former propulsion engineer, now space logistics consultant.
Subject: Analysis of the MAI development — an ablative pulsed plasma thruster (APPT) for the CubeSat format.
[The Gist]: What's Really Happening
Official version: MAI has created an electric rocket system for CubeSats that increases their active lifespan and allows debris avoidance. The design is simple, and in terms of total impulse (300 N·s), the development outperforms foreign analogs by nearly 100 times.
Reality:
This engine is not a panacea, but a highly specialized tool for 'slow thrust'. The term 'total impulse' (300 N·s) sounds impressive, but the 100-fold superiority over analogs was taken out of context by journalists. The foreign analogs it's compared to (3.4 N·s) are likely a completely different class of engines (e.g., electrospray or resistojet) that solve different problems. However, the figure of 300 N·s for a CubeSat is indeed a record.
The main hidden truth: The thrust of this engine is minuscule. Pulsed plasma thrusters (APPTs) produce very small forces, measured in micronewtons or millinewtons, but do so through millions of short 'bursts'. They are good for compensating aerodynamic drag in low orbits (where CubeSats reside). But for active maneuvering, like sharply dodging an incoming debris fragment, they are useless. The required reaction time is seconds, while the MAI engine would need hours or days of continuous operation to move the spacecraft by a meter. Thus, the declared 'debris avoidance maneuvers' are marketing.
Timeline and Context
Why are we talking about this news on May 29, 2026?
- Distant past (2022-2023): MAI has been working on this topic for years. Back in 2022-2023, they reported laboratory tests and prototypes, even then claiming a record 300 N·s.
- December 2025 (Final 2025): As part of the 'Universat' project, the first test launch took place. The engine, built at MAI, was sent into space aboard the 'MorSat-1' satellite, created by students of Amur State University. This was not a full-fledged launch, but rather a check that the electronics survived the ascent.
- Today (May 2026): The university press service releases a statement that the 'main phase of flight tests' will begin in summer 2026. In essence, they are telling us about what will happen in a month or two. This is typical PR for Russian science: an announcement of an announcement.
Key context: Since 2025, international rules require satellites to be deorbited within 5-25 years after mission completion. Without an engine, a CubeSat is just an uncontrolled brick. MAI offers the cheapest way to legally dispose of it at end of life, while also slightly extending its lifespan.
Who Wins and Who Loses
Winners:
- Russian universities and small satellite manufacturers: They gain access to a serial engine at a reasonable price. Currently, ion engines for CubeSats on the global market cost from $50,000 to $150,000. MAI promises 'low cost' due to design simplicity. If they can achieve a price below $20,000, they will capture a significant share of the domestic market.
- MAI and specifically the team at the Research Institute of Applied Mechanics and Electrodynamics (NII PME): This is their first serious 'space' product to reach the flight test stage. Success will open the door to orders from Roscosmos and private companies.
- Space debris monitoring services: Yes, for passive disposal (turn on the engine at end of life and deorbit in a couple of months), this is an excellent solution. It's better than nothing.
Losers:
- Russian companies developing alternative engines: There are several projects in Russia for micro-Hall thrusters or electrothermal thrusters. Now they will find it harder to compete with a solution that has already 'flown', even if their characteristics are better in other respects.
- Western vendors operating in the Russian market (via parallel imports): Companies like Aurora Propulsion Technologies (Finland), Enpulsion (Austria) lose potential Russian clients — their place will be taken by the MAI development.
- Investors in orbital servicing projects: Any mission for active debris removal (capture and deorbit) assumes the target has no engine. If all CubeSats worldwide get a cheap engine and can deorbit themselves, the business models of startups like Astroscale for the small satellite segment become less relevant.
What the Media Isn't Saying
The main non-obvious insight:
The engine operates on fluoroplastic. This is both brilliant and terrible. Brilliant because no tanks, valves, or pumps are needed — the propellant is simply a solid piece of plastic (Teflon) that is vaporized by an electric arc. Making such an engine is very cheap and simple.
Terrible because fluoroplastic discharge releases extremely toxic and aggressive gases (hydrogen fluoride and perfluoroisobutylene). For the satellite itself in vacuum, this is not a problem. But for neighboring satellites in a constellation or for telescope optics, it's a real chemical attack. Erosion products from the nozzle will scatter in all directions and can settle on solar panels or scientific instruments, reducing their efficiency.
- Erosion problem: The electrodes also degrade. After several hundred thousand pulses (and the stated lifetime is large), the channel geometry changes, and performance drifts. The engine may start 'firing' erratically, creating unaccounted reaction torque.
- Electromagnetic compatibility problem: A pulsed discharge is a powerful source of interference. The high-voltage pulse generator can jam the satellite's own radio communication with Earth. This is a classic problem for all APPTs. Has MAI solved it? Not a word about it.
- Numbers vs. reality: 300 N·s means, for example, the ability to change the velocity of a 10 kg satellite by 30 m/s over its entire lifetime. For deorbiting from low orbit (where atmospheric drag is high), this might be enough for a year or two. But it does not allow transferring from one orbit to another — that requires hundreds of meters per second.
Forecast: Next 30 Days and 90 Days
30 days (end of June 2026):
- Preparation for tests: The next month will be spent on final calibration and checking 'MorSat-1' before engine ignition. Likely, an exact test date will be announced — mid or late July 2026.
- Skepticism from the military: Behind closed doors, military experts will conclude: 'Suitable for Earth observation and communications. Not for interception or countermeasures.' This will limit funding from the Ministry of Defense but won't hinder civilian procurement.
90 days (August 2026):
- Test results — two scenarios:
1. Optimistic (70% probability): The first ignition is successful. The satellite registers micro-acceleration. TASS and RIA Novosti run loud headlines about the triumph of Russian science. Orders start coming in from private companies (e.g., Sputnix).
2. Pessimistic (30% probability): Problems arise with deployment or calibration. The engine either doesn't start (sticky valves?) or creates interference that disrupts telemetry. Tests are postponed to autumn.
- Start of serial production: If everything goes smoothly, MAI will announce the creation of a small batch (10-20 units) for the needs of the 'Universat-2' project and external customers. The price will likely be announced in the range of $10,000 - $15,000 USD per set (very cheap for the market).
- Reaction from SpaceX/Starlink: In the US, concerns may be raised that mass equipping of CubeSats with engines increases collision risks (since everyone will start 'twitching'), but this is just a cover to begin market regulation.
Summary: The MAI engine is a breakthrough not in technology, but in the economics and accessibility of space maneuvering. It won't turn a CubeSat into a starship. It will turn it from space junk awaiting death into a controlled spacecraft with legal disposal capability. This is a very needed, but very modest victory. And it is in this modesty that its strength lies.
— Editorial Team
No comments yet.