Session
Technical Session VI: Small but Mighty
Abstract
Cubesats, allow cheap access to space and are one of the fastest growing sectors in the space industry. A pulsed plasma thruster to perform drag compensation for a Cubesat platform, with the aim of doubling the time needed for the Cubesat to naturally de-orbit (hence doubling its lifetime) is currently under development by Clyde Space Ltd, Mars Space Ltd and the University of Southampton under an ESA funded project. In this paper, mission requirements, the design of the thruster and the experimental results obtained up to now will be presented.
Presentation Slides
An Off-the-shelf Electric Propulsion System for CubeSats
Cubesats, allow cheap access to space and are one of the fastest growing sectors in the space industry. A pulsed plasma thruster to perform drag compensation for a Cubesat platform, with the aim of doubling the time needed for the Cubesat to naturally de-orbit (hence doubling its lifetime) is currently under development by Clyde Space Ltd, Mars Space Ltd and the University of Southampton under an ESA funded project. In this paper, mission requirements, the design of the thruster and the experimental results obtained up to now will be presented.
