Benchmark Partners with Starlight Engines to Offer Hybrid Propulsion Systems

Benchmark Space Systems announced a strategic partnership with startup Starlight Engines. The agreement, announced at the Small Satellite Conference, will see Benchmark offering hybrid propulsion systems that pair Starlight Crucible Hall-effect thrusters with Benchmark non-toxic chemical thrusters. This hybrid propulsion system is designed for high-endurance or high-specific-impulse missions and spacecraft with a mass of 1,000 kilograms or less.

A promising application for the hybrid propulsion system is a kick stage Benchmark is designing under a NASA Small Business Innovation Research contract. The kick stage requires hybrid technology because chemical propulsion alone does not offer enough range, Chris Carella, Benchmark chief commercial officer, told SpaceNews. And electric propulsion alone would “take too long and you have to fight radiation effects,” he added.

At the SmallSat conference, Benchmark displayed an ESPA-class version of the hybrid propulsion system designed to replace standalone electric thrusters.  Benchmark can fit the hybrid system in space previously reserved for electric propulsion alone because Starlight’s Crucible comes fueled with zinc, which is far more dense than xenon propellant.

The new hybrid engines, which include four Benchmark Lynx thrusters, can provide “an extra 12 to 20 percent total impulse and it’s all high thrust,” Carella said.

Benchmark also offers Modular Adaptive AVionics for Rapid Integration & Configuration, or MAAVRIC, universal control electronics. MAAVRIC’s common interface “greatly reduces integration costs and lead times, and enables seamless dynamic space operations across mission sets and mobility system configurations,” according to the news release.

In addition, Benchmark is known for SmartAIM onboard propulsion control software. Burlington, Vermont-based Benchmark is continuing to expand its network to include partners focused on attitude determination and control systems, space situational awareness, chemical propulsion, electric propulsion and space services.   

“We are laser-focused on offering a full technology stack that delivers on our commitment to space sustainability and our motto: mobility without compromise,’” Carella said in a statement.

Crucible is the first product from Starlight Engines, founded in 2022. The Hall-effect thruster is scheduled to fly for the first time in January 2025.

“We cannot think of a better partner to lead hybrid propulsion integration efforts,” Starlight CEO Todd Bailey said in a statement. “This relationship leverages our complementary strengths to meet the demand for Hall-effect and hybrid propulsion capabilities across commercial and government markets.”