CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – CU Aerospace DUPLEX Satellite Deployed from ISS
CU Aerospace, LLC, a leading aerospace engineering company for small satellite propulsion, is proud to report the culmination of a project that spanned nearly the last 7 years. Their DUPLEX Satellite was successfully deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) early in the morning of Tuesday, December 2nd at 2:10 AM Central Time. Voyager Technologies’ (formerly Nanoracks) Mission Services team provided support and a live link to watch the deployment. Click on this link to watch the video of the deployment- DUPLEX deployment video.
In 2019, CU Aerospace was selected for a NASA STMD Tipping Point award to design, fabricate, integrate, and perform mission operations for the DUPLEX 6U CubeSat having two of CUA’s micro-propulsion systems onboard, one Monofilament Vaporization Propulsion (MVP) system, and one Fiber-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster (FPPT) system. On 14 September 2025, the DUPLEX satellite was launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 to the ISS aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL commercial resupply vehicle, which docked with ISS 4 days later.
The FPPT system can provide a large total impulse primary propulsion for micro-satellites through implementation of a novel PTFE fiber propellant storage and delivery mechanism. A major enhancement of the FPPT technology over classical PPTs is the ability to control both the propellant feed rate and pulse energy, thereby providing control of both the specific impulse and thrust. The FPPT can also provide precision control capability for small spacecraft requiring capabilities such as precision pointing or formation flying. Thrust-vectoring capability of ±4° in the yaw and pitch axes (also with the potential for roll control authority) has been incorporated into the system allowing for limited ACS capability and wheel desaturation for deep space missions. In-orbit operations will demonstrate multiple mission capabilities including inclination change, orbit raising and lowering, drag makeup, and deorbit burns. These mission operations will begin in early 2026 after deployment and checkout operations are concluded.
CUA has worked closely with NearSpace Launch (NSL) on the satellite; NSL built the satellite bus and CUA provided dual propulsion systems and some of the software. DUPLEX will be communicating through the Iridium network using the NSL Eyestar-S4 radios (https://nearspacelaunch.com/eye-star/ ). Voyager Technologies has coordinated the mission to deploy the satellite from the ISS. This mission will allow CUA to achieve critical flight heritage that will elevate their Technical Readiness Level (TRL) to the commercially-desired level.
Link to DUPLEX Project Details (https://www.cuaerospace.com/about/cua-notable-achievements)
NASA published the DUPLEX features:
NASA’s Two-in-One Satellite Propulsion Demo Begins In-Space Test – NASA (https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/ames/nasas-two-in-one-satellite-propulsion-demo-begins-in-space-test/)
It is currently also on the main NASA website:
https://www.nasa.gov/
