The increasing capabilities of the CubeSat platform have led to growing interest in performing more complex commercial and science missions with these miniature spacecraft. In particular, electric propulsion provides unprecedented mission and enables ambitious but low-cost Earth missions as well as lunar, asteroid, and interplanetary exploration. As a case study, a 6 U (where U represents a “unit”) CubeSat using the Miniature Xenon Ion Thruster was designed for a notional mission with a 2 kg, 1.6 U payload, resulting in a spacecraft wet mass of 11.9 kg and a burn duration of 15 months. This spacecraft is capable of up to for a 0.5 U payload, as well as for a 2 U payload. Parametric analyses with generalized electric thruster properties show that mission performance is sensitive to thruster and total efficiency , with a 10% increase in efficiency resulting in a 16% decrease in burn time. This decrease in burn time is also possible by decreasing , but it incurs mass and payload volume penalties. Parametric studies of neutralizer cathode properties show that neutralizer cathode selection is critical, and that such cathodes should be designed to require low power, low to zero flow rate, and long life for high- missions.
Parametric Analysis of High-Delta-V CubeSat Missions with a Miniature Ion Thruster
Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets ; 58 , 3 ; 754-763
2021-01-29
10 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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