Experimental Demonstration of an Aluminum-Fueled Propulsion System for CubeSat Applications

Abstract

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.

Optimization of discharge triggering in micro-cathode vacuum arc thruster for CubeSats

“…There are two main types of propulsion systems-electric and nonelectric or chemical systems [1][2][3]. Non-electric systems (cold gas, liquid or solid propulsion systems, or hybrid [4] propulsion systems that utilize aluminum wool as fuel and a mixture of sodium hydroxide and water as oxidizer) do not use electrical energy to produce thrust. Electric systems (vacuum arc thrusters, ion thrusters, low-power Hall effect thrusters (or so-called 'halo thrusters' [5]), etc) use electricity to produce plasma, which creates thrust by being accelerated to high velocity.…”

Advances in Engine Efficiency: Nanomaterials, Surface Engineering, and Quantum-Based Propulsion

“…To date, it has been challenging to produce macroscopic forces that can effectively propel spacecraft due to the limitations of material technology. However, recent advancements in the field of metamaterials provide new possibilities for creating enormous gradients of free energy [29,[56][57][58][59][60][61] that might be utilized for propulsion purposes. But before they can be used successfully for this purpose, further research and development are required as the practical application of such materials is still in its inception.…”

An Overview of Cube-Satellite Propulsion Technologies and Trends

“…Many inexpensive alternate propellants have been researched for SRP systems and recently, aluminum wool as a propellant, along with the mixture of sodium hydroxide and water as an oxidizer, was tested and was found to produce a thrust of 32 mN and specific impulse of 45 s. A major advantage of these propellants is that they are low cost, easy to handle, and can be stored over a long duration without any decomposition [45]. Table 3 provides a summary of the surveyed SRP systems and their performance parameters.…”