AbstractSmall satellites have historically been forced to use low cost propulsion, or to do without in order to maintain low cost. Since 1999 an increasing number of SSTL's customers have demanded the capability to precisely position and subsequently manoeuvre their satellites, driven largely by the current attraction of small satellite constellations such as Disaster Monitoring (DMC), which require propulsion for launcher injection error correction, drag compensation, constellation phasing and proximity manoeuvring and rendezvous. SSTL has successfully flight qualified a simple, low cost propulsion system based on a low power (15–100W) resistojet employing green propellants such as butane and xenon, and demonstrated key constellation manoeuvres. The system is capable of up to 60m/s deltaV and will be described here.The SSTL low power resistojet is however limited by a low Isp ( 50 s for Xenon in the present design, and 100 s with nitrogen and butane) and a slow reaction time ( 10 min warm-up required). An increasing desire to apply small satellite technology to high deltaV missions while retaining the low cost aspect demands new solutions. ‘Industry standard’ solutions based on cryogenic propulsion, or toxic, carcinogenic storable propellants such as hydrazine/nitrogen oxides combination are not favourable for small satellite missions developed within SSTL's low cost engineering environment.This paper describes a number of strawman missions with high deltaV and/or precision manoeuvring requirements and some low cost propulsion solutions which have been explored at the Surrey Space Centre to meet future needs:Deployment of a complex constellation of nano- or pico-satellites from a secondary launch to a new orbit. The S3TV concept has been developed to allow deployment up to 12 payloads from an ‘off-the-shelf’ thrust tube, using a restartable nitrous oxide hybrid engine, operating in a dual mode with resistojets for attitude control.Orbit transfer of an enhanced microsatellite from a typical 700km sun-synchronous orbit to a lower or higher orbit using a low cost 40N thrust concentrated hydrogen peroxide/kerosene bipropellant engine. A spin stabilized ‘tug’ concept capable of providing between 130 and 300m/s of deltaV to the payload is described.Transfer of an enhanced microsatellite from LEO to lunar orbit using a novel, storable propellant solar thermal propulsion system under development at the Surrey Space Centre. The solar thermal propulsion unit is designed for low cost small satellite support and will be compared with a more traditional approach using and industry standard storable bipropellant chemical engine.Nanosatellite manoeuvring for formation flying using advanced low power electric propulsion. A colloid thruster system concept is planned for development jointly between SSTL, Queen Mary University London and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK. The colloid thruster system is designed to complement an existing butane resistojet to give full 3-axis manoeuvrability to an upgraded SNAP nanosatellite platform which could be reflown in 2007 alongside ESA's Proba 2 technology demonstrator microsatellite. A comparison between low power resistojets, a colloid thruster system, and pulsed plasma thrusters for orbit manoeuvring of microsatellites will be made.This paper's final section will briefly describe some of the interplanetary missions which have been considered at the Surrey Space Centre, and will highlight the few as yet practical solutions for sending small spacecraft on high deltaV missions without the use of a costly upper stage.


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    Title :

    “You can get there from here”: Advanced low cost propulsion concepts for small satellites beyond LEO


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Acta Astronautica ; 57 , 2-8 ; 288-301


    Publication date :

    2005-01-01


    Size :

    14 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



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