Neutron Star Systems

Neutron Star Systems is a Berlin-based electric propulsion company developing SUPREME (Superconductor-based Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster), a novel high-power electric propulsion system that uses superconducting magnets to dramatically increase the efficiency and thrust density of magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters — enabling applications from large GEO satellite station-keeping to deep space primary propulsion and eventually nuclear-electric interplanetary vehicles. Conventional MPD thrusters require very high power levels (10+ kW) to achieve adequate efficiency, limiting their use to large power-rich spacecraft.

Neutron Star Systems' breakthrough is replacing conventional electromagnets with superconducting coils that generate far stronger magnetic fields at lower mass and power input, enabling the thruster to operate efficiently from 1 kW (CubeSat scale) up to 1 MW (cargo spacecraft) using a single scalable architecture.

The SUPREME system operates on propellants 1,000× cheaper than xenon — including argon (atmospheric separation byproduct), ammonia (liquid storage for satellites), and potentially air — making it attractive for both cost reduction in conventional GEO satellites and for the high-delta-V requirements of interplanetary missions where xenon propellant costs become prohibitive. Neutron Star Systems is a Berlin-based deep-tech startup that has received European Space Agency ESA funding and EXIST startup grants from the German federal government.

The company targets four market segments: large GEO satellite manufacturers seeking alternatives to xenon-based Hall-effect thrusters, LEO mega-constellation satellites needing cost-competitive propulsion, high-power deep-space probes, and future in-space transportation tugs. They compete with existing MPD thruster developers at MIT, JAXA, and Busek, and with next-generation Hall-effect thruster programs from Safran and Bradford-ECAPS.