Kreios Space plans to launch KREIOS-1 in 2027 as an orbital demonstrator for air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP). A reported mission profile would start at 500 km and descend toward 150 km, testing propulsion at different altitudes.
What KREIOS-1 is planned to test
KREIOS-1 is intended to demonstrate Kreios Space’s ABEP concept in orbit. The reported flight plan would vary the satellite’s altitude so its propulsion system can be measured at different heights.
How Kreios Space describes ABEP
The company says its system would collect residual atmospheric particles and use them as propellant. It describes ionizing those particles into plasma—a gas containing charged particles—then accelerating the plasma to generate thrust.
The reported flight plan
The reported plan calls for KREIOS-1 to begin at 500 km and gradually descend toward 150 km. It also describes a NanoAvionics MP42 satellite bus weighing about 200 kg, with optical instruments and measurement sensors.
KREIOS-2 is the planned commercial follow-up
Kreios Space’s roadmap lists KREIOS-2 for launch in 2028 as its first commercial mission in very low Earth orbit (VLEO), a region of orbit close to Earth.
