Session

Technical Session X: Propulsion

Abstract

The monopropellant community has been pursuing low-toxicity alternatives to hydrazine for the past two decades. One of such “green” monopropellants, known as AF-M315E, has caught attention of many by offering both improved performance and handling safety. A 0.5N-class, AF-M315E micro thruster was recently developed by Busek that can deliver >220sec vacuum Isp. Both steady-state and pulsed firings were demonstrated. The thruster, when cold, requires a small amount of pre-heating power to start which is no more than 12W or an equivalent of 1.6W-Hr energy input. The thruster is complemented by a novel piezoelectric microvalve that needs less than 200mW to operate and weighs a mere 67g. The valve features an all-welded, all-titanium wetted design for long-term propellant compatibility. It is rated for 1200sccm GN2 max flow and 1.5×10-4sccm GN2 leak rate. The valve passed environmental testing before being integrated into the thruster, and together they demonstrated a minimum impulse bit of 0.036N-sec. Busek is currently developing a 1U CubeSat propulsion system centered on the integrated 0.5N thruster and microvalve. The system is designed to be self-contained and fully loaded with propellant, which allows for simple spacecraft integration and reduced operating cost.

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Aug 6th, 5:00 PM

Development Status and 1U CubeSat Application of Busek’s 0.5N Green Monopropellant Thruster

The monopropellant community has been pursuing low-toxicity alternatives to hydrazine for the past two decades. One of such “green” monopropellants, known as AF-M315E, has caught attention of many by offering both improved performance and handling safety. A 0.5N-class, AF-M315E micro thruster was recently developed by Busek that can deliver >220sec vacuum Isp. Both steady-state and pulsed firings were demonstrated. The thruster, when cold, requires a small amount of pre-heating power to start which is no more than 12W or an equivalent of 1.6W-Hr energy input. The thruster is complemented by a novel piezoelectric microvalve that needs less than 200mW to operate and weighs a mere 67g. The valve features an all-welded, all-titanium wetted design for long-term propellant compatibility. It is rated for 1200sccm GN2 max flow and 1.5×10-4sccm GN2 leak rate. The valve passed environmental testing before being integrated into the thruster, and together they demonstrated a minimum impulse bit of 0.036N-sec. Busek is currently developing a 1U CubeSat propulsion system centered on the integrated 0.5N thruster and microvalve. The system is designed to be self-contained and fully loaded with propellant, which allows for simple spacecraft integration and reduced operating cost.