Turkish graduates build green thrusters for satellites
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.
