I.IntroductionHe inherent mass, volume, and power constraints of CubeSats puts a stringent limitation on the resources that can be allocated to the propulsion system without overly detracting from the other subsystems on board [1]. Both Chemical Propulsion (CP) and Electric Propulsion (EP) have been proposed for CubeSat applications, with different key constraints in each case. The limited on-board power restricts the use of highly fuel-efficient EP systems, while the CP systems have scaling related issues and require a larger mass and volume of the 1 CubeSat for equivalent levels of ∆ [2]. Nevertheless, future CubeSat missions involving constellation or formation flight will require that the satellites be equipped with a propulsion system that can operate within the stringent resource limitations of the satellite and deliver enough ∆ for their orbital maintenance [3]. There are ongoing research activities in this regard aimed at miniaturizing the space proven and conventional propulsion systems, which can be found in [1,[4][5]. However, scaling of conventional propulsion systems to the size and power limitations of 1 CubeSats, while retaining their operational performances is difficult and complex, and therefore requires the investigation of alternative approaches [6]. This study considers a CP alternative that utilizes aluminium wool as fuel and a mixture of sodium hydroxide and water as an oxidiser [7]. The novelty over conventional propellant combinations is that the reaction takes place at moderate temperatures and at a slow reaction rate. Additionally, the reactants are low cost, easy to handle and can be stored over a long duration without decomposing.The proposed configuration of the propulsion system shown in Fig. 1, is designed to take about one-third of the volume of a 1 CubeSat. It contains a reaction chamber with a nozzle, a plenum volume, two oxidiser tanks with bladders, two cool gas generators and three Lee extended performance valves (IEP Series with FFKM seal option). Table 1 shows the mass budget of the propulsion system. The total system mass is 126 grams, which is about 10% of a 1 CubeSat. The volume is 10×10×3.25 (see Error! Reference source not found.), which represents about 30% of the total volume of the 1 CubeSat.
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