At the edge of Earth's atmosphere, where drag has long been considered a death sentence for satellites, a Lithuanian manufacturer and a propulsion innovator are preparing to test whether that liability can be turned into fuel. Kreios Space has selected Kongsberg NanoAvionics to build a demonstration satellite that would scoop sparse atmospheric particles at very low Earth orbit and ionize them as propellant — a concept that, if validated, could fundamentally alter the economics of how humanity maintains its presence in space. The mission asks a quiet but consequential question: what if the obs