New Zealand’s Zenno Astronautics has secured a ground-breaking partnership with Seattle-based company Portal Space Systems – bringing the world’s most powerful magnetic actuator into its first free-flying mission.

Zenno’s technology is on track to become the backbone of next-generation space infrastructure, revolutionising how spacecraft manoeuvre and interact in orbit.

With Zenno’s flagship product – the Supertorquer – onboard, Portal Space Systems will launch the Starburst-1 mission, a highly manoeuvrable spacecraft in late 2026. The purpose of the mission is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technology in a year-long mission.

The Supertorquer is a world-first system that uses superconducting electromagnetics to control a spacecraft’s attitude (orientation/pointing) without using chemical fuel. It interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field to vastly enhance satellite manoeuvrability.

Auckland-based Zenno Astronautics co-founder and chief product officer Sebastian Wieczorek says, “I am very excited to partner with Portal Space Systems to deliver record-setting magnetic performance on board a spacecraft using Zenno’s Supertorquer. As a Kiwi founder, I am proud that this New Zealand-designed and built product will be featured on the world stage at the cutting edge of technology. This milestone will also be instrumental in proving New Zealand’s sovereign capability in space.”

Portal Space Systems' Starburst-1 mission will spend a year in sun-synchronous orbit and will demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), rapid retasking, and rapid orbital change for national security and commercial use cases, including Supernova's high-performance reaction control system (RCS) thrusters, which will serve as the main translational propulsion for the Starburst vehicle.

Portal Space Systems chief executive Jeff Thornburg says, “Zenno’s superconducting magnet technology introduces a new class of precise, fuel-free control that unlocks real mission value – especially for operations like RPO, inspection, and orbital servicing. I’m especially excited about the potential for radiation shielding. These are exactly the kinds of capabilities that Starburst is built to support. Pairing Starburst with the Zenno Supertorquer, set to be the most powerful magnetic actuator ever flown, is a natural fit. This mission gives both teams the opportunity to demonstrate a combined capability that’s directly relevant to defence and commercial operators alike.”

Zenno is building next-gen hardware for manoeuvrability in space, leveraging solar energy and Earth’s magnetic field to drive real impact.

“New Zealand is punching above its weight in both space and superconductivity, delivering real value to the industry. Zenno is proud to be at the forefront of this with a vision building for life in space.” Wieczorek concluded.

About Portal Space Systems

Portal Space Systems is a next-generation spacecraft company headquartered in Washington state. The company builds reconfigurable, maneuverable spacecraft designed to support defense and commercial missions on operational timelines.

Portal emerged from stealth in 2024, earned STRATFI support, raised one of the largest publicly announced seed rounds in the sector, and was named a Via Satellite “Top 10 Startup to Watch.”

Source: https://www.zenno.space/