Electrospray Thrusters as Precise Attitude Control Actuators for Small Satellites

Mier-Hicks, Fernando; Lozano, Paulo

doi:10.2514/1.g000736

Cited by 26 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These factors are investigated in the remainder of this section for a spacecraft with a propulsive acceleration of ±1.1667 × 10 −4 m/s 2 . This acceleration is based on a 3 kg spacecraft (e.g., a 3U CubeSat [19,20]) equipped with the electrospray propulsion system, developed by the Space Propulsion Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which produces a nominal thrust of 350 µN [21,22]. For all cases considered in this section it is assumed that the maneuvering satellites begin and end their maneuvers at the same altitude, although this need not be the case and as long as both the initial and final altitude of the spacecraft are specified there will be no change to the formulation of the presented solution.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

General Perturbation Method for Satellite Constellation Deployment Using Nodal Precession

McGrath

Macdonald

2020

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

General Perturbation Method for Satellite Constellation Deployment Using Nodal Precession

McGrath

Macdonald

2020

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Different designs of test rigs have been reported, most recently a magnetically levitated test bed that allowed to demonstrate the ability of electrospray thrusters to serve as precise actuators in small satellite attitude control. 89 The operation of multiplexed electrospray microthrusters has to the best of our knowledge not been shown with individually addressed emitters. Since in all work reported so far, several emitters share a common extraction electrode, the question arises whether the emission is synchronous and homogeneous over the array of emitters.…”

Section: -13mentioning

confidence: 98%

Space micropropulsion systems for Cubesats and small satellites: From proximate targets to furthermost frontiers

Levchenko

Bazaka

Ding

et al. 2018

Applied Physics Reviews

264

104

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rapid evolution of miniaturized, automatic, robotized, function-centered devices has redefined space technology, bringing closer the realization of most ambitious interplanetary missions and intense near-Earth space exploration. Small unmanned satellites and probes are now being launched in hundreds at a time, resurrecting a dream of satellite constellations, i.e., wide, all-covering networks of small satellites capable of forming universal multifunctional, intelligent platforms for global communication, navigation, ubiquitous data mining, Earth observation, and many other functions, which was once doomed by the extraordinary cost of such systems. The ingression of novel nanostructured materials provided a solid base that enabled the advancement of these affordable systems in aspects of power, instrumentation, and communication. However, absence of efficient and reliable thrust systems with the capacity to support precise maneuvering of small satellites and CubeSats over long periods of deployment remains a real stumbling block both for the deployment of large satellite systems and for further exploration of deep space using a new generation of spacecraft. The last few years have seen tremendous global efforts to develop various miniaturized space thrusters, with great success stories. Yet, there are critical challenges that still face the space technology. These have been outlined at an inaugural International Workshop on Micropropulsion and Cubesats, MPCS-2017, a joint effort between Plasma Sources and Application Centre/Space Propulsion Centre (Singapore) and the Micropropulsion and Nanotechnology Lab, the G. Washington University (USA) devoted to miniaturized space propulsion systems, and hosted by CNR-Nanotec—P.Las.M.I. lab in Bari, Italy. This focused review aims to highlight the most promising developments reported at MPCS-2017 by leading world-reputed experts in miniaturized space propulsion systems. Recent advances in several major types of small thrusters including Hall thrusters, ion engines, helicon, and vacuum arc devices are presented, and trends and perspectives are outlined.

show abstract

“…While the low thrust has other applications, such as for high precision attitude control [19], for main propulsion the thrust is increased by using arrays of thrusters. Tanks with four thrusters each, as shown in Figure 4, are arranged on a 1U CubeSat face.…”

Section: Propulsionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility of a Deep-Space CubeSat Mission with a Stage-Based Electrospray Propulsion System

Jia-Richards

Lozano

Sternberg

et al. 2020

2020 IEEE Aerospace Conference

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Independent deep-space exploration with CubeSats, where the spacecraft independently propels itself from Earth orbit to deep-space, is currently not possible due to the lack of high-∆V propulsion systems compatible with the small form factor. The ion Electrospray Propulsion System (iEPS) under development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Space Propulsion Laboratory is a promising technology due to its inherently small size and high efficiency. However, current electrospray thrusters have demonstrated lifetimes (500 hours) below the required firing time for an electrospray-thrusterpropelled CubeSat to escape from Earth starting from geostationary orbit (8000 hours). To bypass this lifetime limitation, a stage-based approach, analogous to launch vehicle staging, is proposed where the propulsion system consists of a series of electrospray thruster arrays and fuel tanks. As each array reaches its lifetime limit, the thrusters and fuel tanks are ejected from the spacecraft exposing a new array to continue the mission. This work addresses the technical feasibility of a spacecraft with a stage-based electrospray propulsion system for a mission from geostationary orbit to near-Earth asteroid 2010 UE51 through a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Team Xc concurrent design center study. Specific goals of the study were to analyze availability of CubeSat power systems that could support the propulsion system and any other avionics as well as requirements for attitude control and communication between the spacecraft and Earth. Two bounding cases, each defined by the maturity of the iEPS thrusters, were considered. The first case used the current demonstrated performance metrics of iEPS on a 12U CubeSat bus while the second case considered expected near-term increases in iEPS performance metrics on a 6U CubeSat bus. A high-level overview of the main subsystems of the CubeSat design options is presented, with a particular focus on the propulsion, power, attitude control, and communication systems, as they are the primary drivers for enabling the stagebased iEPS CubeSat architecture.

show abstract

Electrospray Thrusters as Precise Attitude Control Actuators for Small Satellites

Cited by 26 publications

References 14 publications

General Perturbation Method for Satellite Constellation Deployment Using Nodal Precession

General Perturbation Method for Satellite Constellation Deployment Using Nodal Precession

Space micropropulsion systems for Cubesats and small satellites: From proximate targets to furthermost frontiers

Feasibility of a Deep-Space CubeSat Mission with a Stage-Based Electrospray Propulsion System

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About