Development of Electric and Chemical Microthrusters
The increasing application of microsatellites (from 10 kg up to 100 kg) as well as CubeSats for a rising number of various missions demands the development of miniaturized propulsion systems. Fotec and The University of Applied Sciences at Wiener Neustadt is developing a number of micropropulsion te...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2011-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Aerospace Engineering |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/361215 |
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| Summary: | The increasing application of microsatellites (from 10 kg up to 100 kg) as well as CubeSats for a rising number of various missions demands the development of miniaturized propulsion systems. Fotec and The University of Applied Sciences at Wiener Neustadt is developing a number of micropropulsion technologies including both electric and chemical thrusters targeting high performance at small scales. Our electric propulsion developments include a series of FEEP (field emission electric propulsion) thrusters, of which the thrust ranges from μN to mN level. The thrusters are highly integrated into clusters of indium liquid-metal-ion sources that can provide ultralow thrust noise and long-term stability. We are also developing a micro PPT thruster that enables pointing capabilities for CubeSats. For chemical thrusters, we are developing novel micromonopropellant thrusters with several hundred mN as well as a 1–3 N bipropellant microrocket engine using green propellants and high specific impulse performance. This paper will give an overview of our micropropulsion developments at Fotec, highlighting performance as well as possible applications. |
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| ISSN: | 1687-5966 1687-5974 |