Nano-Sat Scale Electric Propulsion for Attitude Control-Performance Analysis

King, Jeffery T.; Kolbeck, Jonathan; Kang, Jin S.; Sanders, Michael; Keidar, Michael

doi:10.1109/aero.2019.8741404

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The pulse length used in the ECD tests of 200 ms was longer than the ideal to replicate a Dirac's delta function, which is the hypothesised solution for equation (3). In fact a PPT impulse lasts for a very small amount of time (10 µs) when compared to the period of oscillation of the thrust-stand (≈ 2.5 s).…”

Section: Transfer Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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In vacuum dynamic and static tests of a thrust balance for electric propulsion with hysteresis analysis and behaviour prediction with transfer function

Soares¹,

Marques²

2021

Meas. Sci. Technol.

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This work describes the advances on the development of a thrust-stand for electric propulsion application with a focus on the constraints of the two-stage pulsed plasma thruster (TS-PPT) being developed at INPE at the Electric Propulsion Laboratory (LPEL) of the Laboratory of Combustion and Propulsion (LABCP). While previous work on this instrument focused on basic development in atmospheric pressure the present effort presents the development undertaken to elevate the TRL of the device to allow it to operate in vacuum—the environment where actual electric thrusters operate and are tested. To cater for INPE’s TS-PPT specification, standard masses summing 1.2 kg were used while the electrostatic calibration device (ECD) was set to produce 31 μNs. A detailed hysteresis analysis was carried out at the target TS-PPT specification together with a transfer function that aimed at extrapolating and predicting the behaviour of the instrument. In addition, this work shows the development of a new magnetic damper for the instrument that reduces the waiting time between tests. A new calibration at the TS-PPT specification points were undertaken in vacuum since previous calibration were made for atmospheric pressure and did not include the specific points of interest for the TS-PPT. Furthermore, previous calibration procedures were verified to ensure they would apply to the vacuum conditions and to account for the substitution of some thrust stand previously incompatible vacuum parts and also to account for the addition of the new magnetic damper and other unforeseen conditions caused by the vacuum environment.

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Section: Transfer Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…attitude control [3]. High specific impulse is the main feature that makes EP more attractive than conventional chemical thrusters for space missions [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In vacuum dynamic and static tests of a thrust balance for electric propulsion with hysteresis analysis and behaviour prediction with transfer function

Soares¹,

Marques²

2021

Meas. Sci. Technol.

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“…These satellites are required to perform several complex tasks in education, scientific research, space exploration, Earth observation, space weather, high-resolution imagery, ship tracking, airplane tracking, etc. [16]- [18], while maintaining the cost low. However, the harsh radiation environment, size limitations, high power density requirement, and low-cost components (especially COTS) make their design challenging.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comprehensive Review on Small Satellite Microgrids

Yaqoob

Lashab

Vasquez

et al. 2022

IEEE Trans. Power Electron.

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The Small Satellite (SmallSat) industry has recorded incredible growth recently. Within this class, among Mini-, Micro-, and Nanosatellites, the Cube Satellite (CubeSat) is primed for an explosion of growth. These satellites are fascinating for remote sensing, earth observation, and scientific applications. Remarkable attention from the space operators makes it valuable because of its low cost, cubic shape, less manufacturing time, lightweight, and modular structure. Among the various subsystems comprising the SmallSat, the Electrical Power System (EPS) is the most crucial one because unreliable power supply to the rest is most of the time detrimental to the mission. The EPS is formed by electrical sources, storage units, and loads, all interconnected via different power converters, the operation of which must be closely orchestrated to accomplish efficient use of photovoltaic power, optimal battery management, and resilient power delivery. At the same time, the EPS design must address a series of challenges such as size restrictions, high power density, harsh space environments (e.g., atomic oxygen, radiation, and extreme temperatures) which significantly impact the EPS electrical and electronic equipment. In terms of power systems, a SmallSat EPS can be considered a space microgrid owing coordination and control of distributed generation (DG), storage and loads in a small-scale electrical network. From this point of view, this paper reviews and explores SmallSat microgrid's research developments, energy transfer and architectures, converter topologies, latest technologies, main challenges, and some potential solutions which will enable building a more robust, resilient, and efficient EPS. The research gaps and future developments are underlined before the paper is concluded.

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“…Developing proper propulsion solutions for nanosatellites is important to further utilize these platforms, enabling missions such as: 1) maintaining relative positioning of satellites in a constellation (station keeping); 2) injecting satellites into their designated orbits (orbit establishment); 3) aerodynamic drag compensation; and 4) end of life maneuvering (either deorbit or transfer to a safe orbit). Moreover, a propulsion system with several thrusters can also be used for attitude control [2]. Nevertheless, presently most nanosatellites either have no propulsion or only limited propulsion capability due to the limited number of available propulsion solutions and stringent requirements of nanosatellites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental investigation of an external discharge very low anode power (< 20 W) hall thruster

et al. 2022

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A sub 20 W wall-less Hall Effect Thruster (HET) was developed at the Asher Space Research Institute (ASRI), Technion. In this work, an initial study of the thruster performance and underlying physics was conducted. It was found that the anode efficiency of the thruster was low (~ 1%), mainly due to the low mass utilization efficiency. Typical performance figures are 90 $$\mu N$$ μ N of thrust, specific impulse of 90 s and anode efficiency of ~ 1% at 3–4 W anode power. The thruster far-field plume was analyzed using a retarding potential analyzer. It was found that the beam divergence was relatively low at $$57.7^\circ$$ 57 . 7 ∘ (for 95% of the beam current) compared to other wall-less HETs. The voltage utilization efficiency was 38% for a discharge voltage of 1 kV and a mass flow rate of 1 sccm xenon. We speculate that the leading driver to the low mass utilization efficiency is the small ionization fraction associated with these very low power wall-less devices. It was found that the beam efficiency can be over 90% at discharge power levels < 3 W, and decreases with power down to less than 50%.

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Nano-Sat Scale Electric Propulsion for Attitude Control-Performance Analysis

Cited by 5 publications

References 12 publications

In vacuum dynamic and static tests of a thrust balance for electric propulsion with hysteresis analysis and behaviour prediction with transfer function

In vacuum dynamic and static tests of a thrust balance for electric propulsion with hysteresis analysis and behaviour prediction with transfer function

A Comprehensive Review on Small Satellite Microgrids

Experimental investigation of an external discharge very low anode power (< 20 W) hall thruster

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