Session
Technical Session VI: Small But Mighty
Abstract
The Multiple Use Plug Hybrid (for) Nanosats prototype is being developed to fill a niche application for NanoSat scale spacecraft propulsion. The MUPHyN thruster uses safe-handling and inexpensive nitrous oxide (N2O) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) as propellants. The MUPHyN system provides attitude control using secondary-injection thrust vectoring and allows large impulse ÄV and small impulse attitude control and proximity burns to be performed with the same system. To insure survivability during extend duration burns, the MUPHyN incorporates a novel regenerative cooling design where the N2O oxidizer flows through a cooling path embedded in the aerospike nozzle before being injected into the combustion chamber near the nozzle base. Digital manufacturing was used to fabricate the tiny nozzle components. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) was used to fabricate the solid fuel grain from the ABS thermoplastic. When fully developed the MUPHyN thruster will provide an enhanced propulsive capability that will enable multiple NanoSats to be independently re-positioned after deployment from the parent launch vehicle. Because the environmentally benign propellants are mixed only within the combustion chamber once the ignition is initiated, the system is inherently safe and can be piggy-backed on a secondary payload with no overall mission risk increase to the primary payload.
Presentation Slides
Development and Testing of a Multiple Use Plug Hybrid (for) Nanosats (MUPHyN)
The Multiple Use Plug Hybrid (for) Nanosats prototype is being developed to fill a niche application for NanoSat scale spacecraft propulsion. The MUPHyN thruster uses safe-handling and inexpensive nitrous oxide (N2O) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) as propellants. The MUPHyN system provides attitude control using secondary-injection thrust vectoring and allows large impulse ÄV and small impulse attitude control and proximity burns to be performed with the same system. To insure survivability during extend duration burns, the MUPHyN incorporates a novel regenerative cooling design where the N2O oxidizer flows through a cooling path embedded in the aerospike nozzle before being injected into the combustion chamber near the nozzle base. Digital manufacturing was used to fabricate the tiny nozzle components. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) was used to fabricate the solid fuel grain from the ABS thermoplastic. When fully developed the MUPHyN thruster will provide an enhanced propulsive capability that will enable multiple NanoSats to be independently re-positioned after deployment from the parent launch vehicle. Because the environmentally benign propellants are mixed only within the combustion chamber once the ignition is initiated, the system is inherently safe and can be piggy-backed on a secondary payload with no overall mission risk increase to the primary payload.
