Fenix propulsion system

The Fenix propulsion system won last year’s ESA and Space Application Services prize in the Space Exploration Masters competition. Made by Italian company D-Orbit, the 10-cm-long cigar-sized booster provides miniature satellites called CubeSats with enough thrust to change orbit without taking up precious instrument space. This gives CubeSats a new lease on their mission by allowing them to perform orbital manoeuvres and be commanded from Earth to change their orbit mid-mission.