There is an increased requirement for microsatellites to support such future missions as formation-flying space-based surveillance, space control, and on-orbit satellite servicing. Devices that can provide precise impulse bits in the 10-micro-Newton range may be enabling for a new fleet of 25- kg class spacecraft supporting these missions. In response to this need, the Air Force Research Laboratory is developing a miniaturized propulsion unit: the Micro-Pulsed Plasma Thruster (Micro-PPT). Like a standard PPT, the Micro-PPT uses a surface discharge across the face of a solid Teflon(trademark) propellant to create and accelerate a combination of plasma and neutral vapor. The Micro-PPT substantially differs from the standard design by using a self- igniting discharge, eliminating the separate igniter circuit from the thruster. This simplification enables order-of-magnitude reductions in the thruster size and operational power level. A technique for accurately measuring the performance of microthrusters has also been developed. Proof-of-concept performance measurements have been performed that indicate a non-optimized Micro-PPT has a thrust-to-power ratio that is approximately half that of LES- 8/9 with a 60X reduction in mass.
Micropropulsion Research at AFRL (Postprint)
2000
14 pages
Report
No indication
English
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