Experimental Performance of Field Emission Microthrusters

Marcuccio, Salvo; Genovese, A.; Andrenucci, Mariano

doi:10.2514/2.5340

Cited by 75 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…-Field electrical emission propellant [14] (FEEP) or ion thruster: very small liquid droplets of propellant are charged by an intense electrical field and then accelerated to produce thrust force. An example of miniaturized ion thruster is presented in Section 2.5.4.2.…”

Section: Electrical Thrustersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micropropulsion for Space — A Survey of MEMS-based Micro Thrusters and their Solid Propellant Technology

Rossi

2002

Sensors Update

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the last two decades, advances in microsystems technology have made micro mechanics mature enough to envisage miniaturization in the space industry. The motivation behind this development is the reductions in mass, satellite costs and launch costs in parallel with an increase in the reliability and flexibility of satellites. A cluster of many small satellites, commanded from a mothership, or totally independent, will, without any doubt, reduce the risk of mission failure and increase mission flexibility. This revolution in the space industry will rely on propulsion system development to ensure the maneuvering and fine positioning of micro and nano satellites (defined as satellites with mass between 20-100 kg and under 20 kg, respectively). This paper is provides a stateof-the-art review of micro thruster technologies for space applications. the intention is to overview the different technical solutions under investigation in the micropropulsion field, to assess their merits and disadvantages and to try to identify the promising ones in relation to future missions needs. First, the principles of propulsion and basic concepts and equations useful in describing and comparing propulsion systems are described. Then, a review micropropulsion needs for space is made and the options and technologies available for propulsion are presented. An outline is given of the technological efforts made in miniaturizing propulsion systems through examples from current research programs and the different micropropulsion technologies are compared. After illustrating the assets of microsystem technology in the micropropulsion field by the detailed presentation of one particular micropropulsion option investigated at LAAS-CNRS, namely solid propellant micro thruster arrays, a short discussion is given of the capability of microsystem technology to serve micropropulsion needs.

show abstract

Section: Electrical Thrustersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micropropulsion for Space — A Survey of MEMS-based Micro Thrusters and their Solid Propellant Technology

Rossi

2002

Sensors Update

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, it can be handled in atmosphere with no risk, contrary to alkali metals such as cesium or gallium, which are also used for FEEP thrusters. 6 This greatly simplifies testing and also relaxes complex sealing procedures before launch. Tradeoffs between the different FEEP propellants may be found in Ref.…”

Section: Thruster Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indium Field Emission Electric Propulsion Microthruster Experimental Characterization

Tajmar

Genovese

Steiger

2004

Journal of Propulsion and Power

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Indium liquid metal ion sources have been flying for more than 10 years on a variety of spacecraft for spacecraft potential control and as the core element of mass spectrometers. Since 1995, a dedicated indium field emission electric propulsion (In-FEEP) thruster has been under development and recently passed a 2000-h endurance test. The In-FEEP thruster is a micropropulsion device for the 1-100 µN thrust range with low thrust noise and high resolution. The latest performance characteristics including direct thrust measurements and beam profiles are summarized. This information is very important for many upcoming missions that require ultraprecise dragfree control such as the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Mission, LISA, Terrestrial Planet Finder/Darwin, or SMART-2. Nomenclature c = thrust coefficient factor, % e = elementary charge, 1.6 × 10 −19 C F = force, N g = standard gravitational acceleration, 9.81 m · s −2 I B , I E , I extr , I PS = ion beam, emitter, extractor, plume shield current, A I sp = specific impulse, s m ion = indium ion mass, 1.906 × 10 −25 kg m R = reservoir mass, kġ m ion ,ṁ droplet ,ṁ = ion, droplet, total mass flow rate, kg · s −1 r = emitter-accelerator distance, m U B , U E = extractor bias, emitter voltage, V v = velocity, m · s −1 η m = mass efficiency, % τ = temperature, K

show abstract

“…Using the specifications in Ref. [40] for a cesium-based FEEP, the calculated fuel consumption is < 50 g for the duration of the mission. However, additional fuel is likely needed for attitude control and for adjustments to the spacecraft rotation.…”

Section: A Spacecraftmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing long-distance modifications of gravity to 100 astronomical units

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There are very few direct experimental tests of the inverse square law of gravity at distances comparable to the scale of the Solar System and beyond. Here we describe a possible space mission optimized to test the inverse square law at a scale of up to 100 AU. For example, sensitivity to a Yukawa correction with a strength of 10 −7 times gravity and length scale of 100 AU is within reach, improving the current state of the art by over two orders of magnitude. This experiment would extend our understanding of gravity to the largest scale that can be reached with a direct probe using known technology. This would provide a powerful test of long-distance modifications of gravity including many theories motivated by dark matter or dark energy.

show abstract

Experimental Performance of Field Emission Microthrusters

Cited by 75 publications

References 1 publication

Micropropulsion for Space — A Survey of MEMS-based Micro Thrusters and their Solid Propellant Technology

Micropropulsion for Space — A Survey of MEMS-based Micro Thrusters and their Solid Propellant Technology

Indium Field Emission Electric Propulsion Microthruster Experimental Characterization

Testing long-distance modifications of gravity to 100 astronomical units

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About