Development of a Microthruster Module for Nanosatellite Applications

There is a growing interest for the use of nano-satellites within the aerospace community. However, the applicability of useful missions for nano-satellite is limited by the lack of propulsion capability. This study have identified the mission needs, and the requirements that must be met by the propulsion system in terms of mass, dimensions, power and performance in order to enable nano-satellite as an emerging and disruptive technology. Trade-off studies led to the selection of the Pulsed Plasma Thruster as the most- promising technology which can best meet the full range of requirements or at least best meet them over the widest range for the class of spacecraft and mission of interest to this study. This paper describes the conceptual PPT microthruster module design which has been developed to cover the mission scenario selected.

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