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Busek Co. develops electric propulsion systems, including Hall effect thrusters, electrospray thrusters, and RF ion engines, with flight heritage across NASA, DoD, and commercial missions since 1985.
ACTIVEBusek Co. performs applied research, hardware development and specialty manufacturing in space propulsion, emphasizing electric propulsion (including Hall, electrospray and RF ion thrusters), power electronics and material science. Its flight heritage includes AFRL TacSat-2, USAFA FalconSat-3 and FalconSat-5, and NASA/ESA LISA Pathfinder.
Founded in 1985 by Dr. Vlad Hruby, Busek has been a pioneer in electric propulsion technology for nearly four decades. The company develops and manufactures a full range of electric propulsion systems including Hall effect thrusters, electrospray (colloidal) thrusters, pulsed plasma thrusters, and RF ion engines. Busek's thrusters have flown on numerous NASA, Air Force, and commercial missions, providing orbit raising, station-keeping, and drag compensation. The company's BHT series of Hall thrusters spans from micro-propulsion for CubeSats to multi-kilowatt systems for large spacecraft. Busek also develops green chemical propulsion and advanced cathode technologies.
Not ranked: Only 44% of applicable weight is backed by data; 50% is needed to rank.
3 of 8 inputs measured · Insufficient data · 44% of applicable weight backed by data
Not measured: Headcount, Market value, Reported revenue
Not measured: Capital raised (24 months)
Not measured: Open-role change (90 days)
A pillar score averages the company’s percentiles among the tracked companies with a value: relative standing, not a grade. Inputs measured 2026-10-14 (UTC) · methodology v6. Every input, its value and percentile · How it is computed
The Space Score ranks companies relative to each other on public data we hold. It describes; it does not rate, forecast or recommend. It is not a credit rating and not investment advice. Full disclaimer
Sources: Founded, Headquarters, CEO, Legal name
For information only, not investment advice. SpaceNexus is not a registered investment adviser, broker or dealer, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. Data may be delayed, estimated or incomplete; check the source before acting. Full disclaimer
No private round on record. Debt, grants, state capital, owner funding and acquisitions are listed under Funding history by class and not added in.
Ultra-precision, highly throttleable electrospray electric propulsion system with integrated propellant delivery; Busek electrospray (colloid) thrusters flew on ESA's LISA Pathfinder.
Compact 200W Hall effect thruster for small satellite orbit raising and station-keeping, with extensive flight heritage.
Miniature RF ion thruster system for CubeSats and nanosatellites, providing high specific impulse for deep space and LEO missions.
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Compiled Oct 14, 2026 from 3 public records. Every figure links the record it comes from.
Space federal awards
19 awards, $13.0M obligated
Awards with activity since Oct 1, 2018, as searched Sep 24, 2026. Awarded Sep 26, 2013 to Mar 23, 2026; most from NASA (18 awards)
Counts awards the government's own product code or programme title marks as space work, or the space research industry code; the satellite-telecoms industry code counts only together with a space agency, office or a space word in the award's own description. Obligated dollars, not ceilings; umbrella contracts (IDVs) are left out because their orders are counted one by one. Amounts as USAspending reported them on Sep 24, 2026.
Source: USAspending.gov recipient profile (all awards, not only space)
Latest award Mar 23, 2026
Latest space award
$2.1M from NASA
HABITABLE WORLDS OBSERVATORY SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATIONS AND MISSION ARCHITECTURE STUDIES
Source: USAspending.gov award record
Awarded Mar 23, 2026
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
18 space awards, $11.5M obligated
USAspending.gov award record, Mar 23, 2026
Department of Defense
1 space award, $1.5M obligated
USAspending.gov award record, Mar 22, 2019
APA
SpaceNexus. (2026, October 14). Busek Co.: Company dossier [Data set]. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://spacenexus.us/company-profiles/busek-co
Chicago
SpaceNexus. "Busek Co.: Company dossier." Data as of October 14, 2026. Accessed October 14, 2026. https://spacenexus.us/company-profiles/busek-co.
BibTeX
@misc{spacenexus_busekco_2026,
author = {{SpaceNexus}},
title = {{Busek Co.}: Company dossier},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
howpublished = {\url{https://spacenexus.us/company-profiles/busek-co}},
url = {https://spacenexus.us/company-profiles/busek-co},
urldate = {2026-10-14},
note = {Data as of 2026-10-14; each fact links its primary source}
}