General Galactic Plans to Test Water-Based Rocket Fuel in Orbit

General Galactic, a startup co-founded by former SpaceX engineer Halen Mattison, is attempting to achieve what no company has done before: using water as the sole propellant for spacecraft. Their first mission, planned for this fall, involves launching an 1,100-pound satellite aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The company intends to demonstrate two propulsion methods. The chemical propulsion approach will use electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, which will then be burned for thrust. The electrical propulsion system, a Hall thruster, will ionize the water to create plasma and use magnetic fields to propel the satellite. Water offers practical advantages over traditional fuels, such as reduced risk of explosion and simpler storage requirements. Beyond technical innovation, the startup’s work may improve satellite maneuverability, which is increasingly relevant as Chinese and Russian satellites operate close to American ones. Mattison and CTO Luke Neise envision a future where water-based propellant could support orbital refueling networks and even gas stations on Mars. While experts note numerous engineering challenges, including material corrosion from ionized oxygen and efficiency trade-offs, the mission represents an important step in exploring alternative, safer, and potentially more versatile space propulsion systems. With $10 million in venture funding, the Trinity mission is a small but significant test for water-powered spacecraft.