Staging of electric propulsion systems: Enabling an interplanetary Cubesat

Krejci, David; Jenkins, Marco Gómez; Lozano, Paulo

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2019.04.031

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Another recent and interesting development is the staging of GITs to enable interplanetary missions for smallsats [53]. Staging increases the delta velocities by reducing mass as each stage is completed [54]. This allows smallsats to escape Earths orbit from a geostationary orbit (GEO).…”

Section: Gridded Ion Thrustermentioning

confidence: 99%

Electric Propulsion Methods for Small Satellites: A Review

2021

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Over 2500 active satellites are in orbit as of October 2020, with an increase of ~1000 smallsats in the past two years. Since 2012, over 1700 smallsats have been launched into orbit. It is projected that by 2025, there will be 1000 smallsats launched per year. Currently, these satellites do not have sufficient delta v capabilities for missions beyond Earth orbit. They are confined to their pre-selected orbit and in most cases, they cannot avoid collisions. Propulsion systems on smallsats provide orbital manoeuvring, station keeping, collision avoidance and safer de-orbit strategies. In return, this enables longer duration, higher functionality missions beyond Earth orbit. This article has reviewed electrostatic, electrothermal and electromagnetic propulsion methods based on state of the art research and the current knowledge base. Performance metrics by which these space propulsion systems can be evaluated are presented. The article outlines some of the existing limitations and shortcomings of current electric propulsion thruster systems and technologies. Moreover, the discussion contributes to the discourse by identifying potential research avenues to improve and advance electric propulsion systems for smallsats. The article has placed emphasis on space propulsion systems that are electric and enable interplanetary missions, while alternative approaches to propulsion have also received attention in the text, including light sails and nuclear electric propulsion amongst others.

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Section: Gridded Ion Thrustermentioning

confidence: 99%

Electric Propulsion Methods for Small Satellites: A Review

2021

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“…For this reason an Earth sphere-of-influence (SOI) escape scenario is considered, with the goal of achieving a transfer able to fly-by an asteroid. The Earth escape problem has been investigated in previous work and solutions have been proposed-chemical propulsion followed by electric low-thrust trajectory [34], low-thrust escape trajectory [35], and micro-propulsion staging [36]. However, all of these solutions consider customized propulsion systems, which are not in line with the off-the-shelf approach used in this mission concept.…”

Section: Propulsion Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel 3U Stand-Alone CubeSat Architecture for Autonomous Near Earth Asteroid Fly-By

Casini

Fodde

Monna³

et al. 2020

Aerospace

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The purpose of this work is to present a novel CubeSat architecture, aimed to explore Near Earth Asteroids. The fast growth in small satellite commercial-off-the-shelf technologies, which characterized the last decade of space industry, is exploited to design a 3U CubeSat able to provide a basic scientific return sufficient to improve the target asteroid dataset. An overview of the current available technologies for each subsystem is presented, followed by a component selection driven by the mission constraints. First a typical asteroid fly-by mission is introduced together with the system and performance requirements. Then each characterizing subsystem is critically analyzed, and the proposed configuration is presented, showing the mission feasibility within only 3.9 kg of wet mass and 385 m/s of total ΔV.

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“…Staging of ionic-liquid electrospray thrusters, analogous to launch vehicle staging, has been proposed as a potential solution to the lifetime limitations [11]. A stage-based system would leverage the low mass and volume of ionic-liquid electrospray thrusters to bypass the lifetime limitations of an individual thruster, and increase the overall lifetime of the propulsion system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Laboratory Testing of a CubeSat-Compatible Staged Ionic-Liquid Electrospray Propulsion System

Pettersson

Jia-Richards

Lozano

2022

AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum

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Advances in propulsion systems are key to enabling independent deep-space CubeSat missions. Currently available electric propulsion technologies require relatively high power and thereby heavy power generation systems, severely limiting their utility for missions going away from the Sun. The ionic-liquid electrospray is known to have high power efficiency but a relatively short lifetime in its present state, limiting the total impulse available in such systems. This lifetime limit can be overcome by using several stages of thrusters, which are used in sequence to multiply the total system lifetime. In this paper, we present the design details and laboratory testing results for a staging system that is compatible with the CubeSat standard. This system will later be demonstrated in space on the STEP-1 satellite, which could enable an exciting new era of accessible CubeSat exploration around the solar system. Nomenclature= Effective exhaust velocity of propulsion system, m/s = Hold-down wire diameter, m = Elastic (Young's) modulus, Pa = Stiffness (spring constant), N/m = Hold-down wire length, m 0 = Spacecraft initial wet mass, kg dry = Propulsion system dry mass, kg pay = Spacecraft payload mass, kg P = Electrical power of propulsion system, W = Specific power of electricity generation, W/kg Δ = Velocity increment from propulsion, m/s

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Staging of electric propulsion systems: Enabling an interplanetary Cubesat

Cited by 19 publications

References 15 publications

Electric Propulsion Methods for Small Satellites: A Review

Electric Propulsion Methods for Small Satellites: A Review

Novel 3U Stand-Alone CubeSat Architecture for Autonomous Near Earth Asteroid Fly-By

Development and Laboratory Testing of a CubeSat-Compatible Staged Ionic-Liquid Electrospray Propulsion System

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