Busek BIT-3 iodine RF ion thruster
Busek's BIT-3 is a miniaturized radio-frequency gridded-ion thruster using solid-storable iodine, developed for CubeSat deep-space missions including Lunar IceCube; sources report a roughly 45-80 W envelope and about 1 mN thrust.
Identity
- Aliases
- BIT-3Busek Ion Thruster 3-cm
- Domains
- spaceflight
- Identity Level
- model
- Kind
- electric-thruster
- Name
- Busek BIT-3 iodine RF ion thruster
- Status
- unknown
Details
- Description
- Busek's BIT-3 is a miniaturized radio-frequency gridded-ion thruster using solid-storable iodine, developed for CubeSat deep-space missions including Lunar IceCube; sources report a roughly 45-80 W envelope and about 1 mN thrust.
- Electric Specs
- Input Power Kw Max
- 0.08
- Input Power Kw Min
- 0.045
- Specific Impulse SMax
- 2,500
- Specific Impulse SMin
- 2,100
- Thrust NMax
- 0.00115
- Propellants
- iodine
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 15, 2026 at 02:48:52 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 15, 2026 at 02:48:52 UTC
Other
- Sources
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-14
- Note
- NASA Goddard's Lunar IceCube overview identifies the Busek BIT-3 system, 1.5 kg iodine load, below 1.15 mN baseline thrust, and approximately 2,500 s specific impulse.
- Publisher
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- Title
- Lunar IceCube Mission Overview
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-14
- Note
- NASA's Lunar IceCube feature identifies BIT-3 as Busek's iodine-fueled RF ion propulsion system and the first system intended to use iodine in flight.
- Publisher
- NASA
- Title
- Lunar IceCube to Take on Big Mission From Small Package
- Accessed Date
- 2026-08-14
- Note
- NASA's Lunar IceCube article reports BIT-3 operation at up to 80 W, solid-storable iodine, and integrated two-axis gimbal capability.
- Publisher
- NASA Technical Reports Server
- Title
- Lunar IceCube: A New Mission to the Moon