Turkish graduates build green thrusters for satellites

ISTANBUL

ITU graduates Mustafa Ay and Hıdır İlyas Sezer developed an eco-friendly thruster for satellites.

Stepping away from traditional chemical propellants, two graduates from Istanbul Technical University (ITU) have engineered a solar-powered propulsion system designed to prevent satellite collisions in low Earth orbit.

Mustafa Ay and Hıdır İlyas Sezer tailored the hardware for units weighing under 500 kilograms. The pair stepped in to equip these devices with maneuvering gear, targeting a sector where most small craft launch without any mobility.

The electric engine delivers five times the efficiency of traditional rockets by firing propellant at 10 times the speed of a bullet. “This technology allows operators to actively steer clear of space junk and safely burn up dead satellites upon atmospheric reentry,” Ay said.

Meanwhile, the global count of roughly 14,000 active orbiters is projected to multiply by 10 over the next five years. Türkiye currently operates around 70 satellites, while state defense targets aim to expand this fleet to 600, driving the need for domestic tech.

Small satellites, primarily utilized for internet, radar and observation, operate at an altitude of 1,000 kilometers, significantly intensifying space traffic. Past orbital collisions have triggered severe crises, scattering debris that battered other units and inflicted heavy financial losses on companies. The new mechanism averts such chain reactions while ensuring compliance with international regulations that restrict a satellite’s stay in a single orbit to five years.

Furthermore, the plug-and-play module eliminates the toxic gas emissions typical of older-generation rocket systems. The developers now plan to integrate artificial intelligence into the software, allowing satellites to execute orbital shifts and outer-orbit disposal entirely on their own, Sezer said.