Ion-X, a French propulsion startup, has announced it will partner with Univity, a French company planning a large 5G broadband satellite constellation in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). The announcement was made on October 23rd. Ion-X will provide an upgraded version of its electrospray thruster for this project.
According to Ion-X CEO Thomas Hiriart, the company is slated to supply propulsion systems for at least one of the two 350-kilogram UniShape prototype satellites. Univity aims to launch these prototypes in 2027, preceding the full deployment of its constellation by 2030. The UniShape mission is planned to be the inaugural flight of Ion-X’s Halo-Max thruster.
The Halo-Max is engineered to deliver approximately five times the total impulse of its predecessor, the Halo-100X thruster. Hiriart stated that the Halo-100X, which had its first successful in-orbit demonstration in January, is capable of achieving a total impulse of several thousand newton-seconds.
Univity, formerly known as Constellation Technologies & Operations, recently tested a payload in low Earth orbit, utilizing cellular frequencies from terrestrial partners to connect user terminals developed internally. A Univity spokesperson commented: “The mission achieved its technical validation objectives,” and added that comprehensive results from the test campaign would be disclosed next month.
Earlier this year, Univity collaborated with France’s largest network of carrier-neutral hosting sites to facilitate the integration of its proposed VLEO 5G services with terrestrial telecom operators. Ion-X, founded in 2021, has outlined plans to increase production to 10 thrusters per month by 2026, and subsequently to 200 annually by 2028.
Hiriart clarified: “For now, Ion-X has signed a commercial agreement to contribute to the UniShape mission only, but the company will speed up and strengthen its industrial roadmap if larger orders need to be made for the next phases of the Univity project.”
Ion-X also plans to supply its Halo-100X propulsion system for Estonia’s OPS-SAT ORIOLE mission, an Earth observation demonstrator scheduled for launch in October 2026. Hiriart confirmed that this mission would mark the first instance of Halo-100X being used for a purpose beyond a mere thruster test.