Aliena Pte Ltd is a Singapore-based space-tech company specializing in electric propulsion systems for small satellites. As a manufacturer and service provider, Aliena offers miniaturized, ultra-low power Hall-effect thrusters designed to enhance satellite maneuverability and extend mission capabilities, particularly in very low Earth orbits (VLEO). Their primary product, the MUSIC engine, caters to applications like orbit servicing, constellation phasing, and debris removal, with partners including Wavemaker Partners, SEEDS Capital, and NTUitive. Keywords associated with Aliena include electric propulsion, small satellites, Hall thrusters, VLEO, and space-tech.
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The 16U nanosatellite will carry a Multi Stage Ignition Compact engine developed by NTU spin-off Aliena.
Dr Lim Jian Wei (Mark) is co-founder and CEO of Aliena.
Aliena is an NTU spin-off company whose Multi Stage Ignition Compact engine electrically ionises a gas propellant and accelerates the ions using controlled electric and magnetic fields to generate steady thrust for orbit raising or lowering.
Aliena provides propulsion systems intended to be versatile across a wide range of satellite platforms.
Aliena’s GEO-Hall thrusters are designed to operate below the 10 W regime and to fit within extremely small form factors.
Aliena deployed its Hall thruster engines on the smallest satellite on-orbit to host such a propulsion system.
Aliena achieved a milestone reduction in Hall thruster power consumption through a novel ignition and neutralization scheme developed internally.
Aliena’s microsatellite-class engines, named MUSIC, will be first deployed on a 12U smallsat platform in 2023 on Orbital Astronautic’s ORB-12 Strider mission.
Aliena designed its GEO-Hall thrusters specifically to meet demanding smallsat operations.
Aliena deployed its Hall thruster engines on a 3U nanosatellite named NuX-1.
Aliena developed GEO-Hall thrusters that are sub-10 W class systems designed for nanosatellite operations.
Aliena achieved a reduction in Hall thruster power consumption through a novel ignition and neutralization scheme developed internally.
OrbAstro announced a contract with Singapore-based Aliena PTE Ltd. on 2021-09-23 to fly Aliena’s propulsion hardware onboard OrbAstro’s first microsatellite.
Aliena signed a contract with Orbital Astronautics to fly its AA Multi-modal, all-electric, AOCS propulsion system onboard an OrbAstro ORB-12 12U-class satellite scheduled for launch in September 2022.
The ORB-12 Strider mission will host a variety of payloads for on-orbit testing and demonstration, with the Aliena-Aurora (AA) propulsion system as the primary payload.
NuX-1 is a triple cubesat mission designed to demonstrate autonomous orbit control maneuvers with Aliena’s miniature Hall thruster and NuSpace’s attitude determination and control system.
Singapore startups NuSpace and Aliena plan to send their joint NuX-1 demonstration satellite on Momentus’ Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle after it launches in early 2021 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.