Session
Session VIII: Advanced Concepts II
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
CU Aerospace has developed a fiber-fed pulsed plasma thruster (FPPT) which consumes PTFE (Teflon) propellant in spooled form, fed with extrusion 3D printer technology. The thruster uses a parallel energy storage unit (ESU) design, assembling >300 COTS capacitors into discrete 10 J modules while maintaining low per-cap current levels. The discharge is initiated by a pulsed regenerative carbon igniter located in the thruster cathode. Thruster performance varies with pulse energy and fuel feed rate, with measured impulse bits ranging from 0.057 – 0.241 mN-s and 960 – 2400 s specific impulse. The highest specific impulse measured is 2423 s for 40 J pulse energy. A 1U 20 J ESU flight design with 331 g PTFE fuel provides 5500 N-s total impulse. Accelerated subsystem life testing has demonstrated > 600 million capacitor charge / discharge cycles with nearly identical per-cap current waveforms.
Development of a Fiber-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster for Small Satellites
Utah State University, Logan, UT
CU Aerospace has developed a fiber-fed pulsed plasma thruster (FPPT) which consumes PTFE (Teflon) propellant in spooled form, fed with extrusion 3D printer technology. The thruster uses a parallel energy storage unit (ESU) design, assembling >300 COTS capacitors into discrete 10 J modules while maintaining low per-cap current levels. The discharge is initiated by a pulsed regenerative carbon igniter located in the thruster cathode. Thruster performance varies with pulse energy and fuel feed rate, with measured impulse bits ranging from 0.057 – 0.241 mN-s and 960 – 2400 s specific impulse. The highest specific impulse measured is 2423 s for 40 J pulse energy. A 1U 20 J ESU flight design with 331 g PTFE fuel provides 5500 N-s total impulse. Accelerated subsystem life testing has demonstrated > 600 million capacitor charge / discharge cycles with nearly identical per-cap current waveforms.
