Electrothermal microthruster

Electrothermal propulsion can be seen as an intermediate concept between electrical and chemical propulsion. Propellant heating typically happens by means of a resistance (resistojet) or an electrical discharge (arcjet). For the extremely miniaturized applications that will be discussed in this chapter, resistojets are by far the most...

MEMS Micropropulsion: Design, Modeling and Control of Vaporizing Liquid Microthrusters

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of small multi-mission platforms such as CubeSats, in an attempt to reduce costs of space missions. CubeSats have been used for different purposes including Earth observation, research and technology demonstration.<br/>However, a key technology that is still under development is the...

A Comprehensive Model for Control of Vaporizing Liquid Microthrusters

This brief presents a comprehensive approach for the modeling of micropropulsion systems based on the vaporization of a liquid. The model combines the analytical and empirical relations derived from extensive experimental analysis and fundamental physical laws. This allows modeling of key parameters, such as mass flow rate, for the entire...

Integration and Miniaturization Challenges in the Design of Micro-Propulsion Systems for Picosatellite Platforms

As a further step in the research towards miniaturization of satellite components and sub-systems, the Department of Space Systems Engineering at the Delft University of Technology has recently embarked in the end-to-end engineering of the Delfi-PQ picosatellite platform, designed according to the PocketQube size standard. This new satellite...

A review of MEMS micropropulsion technologies for CubeSats and PocketQubes

CubeSats have been extensively used in the past decade as scientific tools, technology demonstrators and for education. Recently, PocketQubes have emerged as an interesting and even smaller alternative to CubeSats. However, both satellite types often lack some key capabilities, such as micropropulsion, in order to further extend the range of...

Optimum Design of Low-Pressure Micro-Resistojet Applied to Nano- and Pico-Satellites

A Low-Pressure Micro-Resistojet (LPM) is under development at TU Delft with the intention to provide future nano- and pico-satellites with the necessary capability to execute formation flying maneuvers, orbit change maneuvers, and station keeping. In this particular type of electro-thermal thruster, water is a green propellant of excellent...

Topology Optimization of Heating Chamber of Vaporizing Liquid Microthrusters

Vaporizing Liquid Microthrusters (VLM) have recently received attention as promising propulsion technology for highly miniaturized spacecraft due to its high thrust levels and low power consumption. This paper presents the results of numerical optimization of the parameters for the design of the heating chamber of VLMs that use water as the...

An analytical model for characterizing the thrust performance of a Low-Pressure Micro-Resistojet

There is a clear trend towards the developments of micro-propulsion system to enhance the capabilities of nano- and pico-satellites. A promising propulsion option to meet the strict requirements of these small satellites is the Low-Pressure Micro-Resistojet (LPM) which works under rarefied gas dynamic regime. To simplify the engineering...

Fabrication and characterization of low pressure micro-resistojets with integrated heater and temperature measurement

Three low pressure micro-resistojets (LPM) with integrated heater and temperature measurement were designed, manufactured and characterized at Delft university of technology. The devices were manufactured using silicon-based micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) technology including a heater made of molybdenum for better operations at high...

Vaporizing Liquid Microthrusters with integrated heaters and temperature measurement

This paper presents the results of design, manufacturing and characterization of Vaporizing Liquid Microthrusters (VLM) with integrated molybdenum heaters and temperature sensing. The thrusters use water as the propellant and are designed for use in CubeSats and PocketQubes. The devices are manufactured using silicon based MEMS (Micro Electro...

Heater Chip with Different Microchannels Geometries for a Low Pressure Free Molecular Micro-Resistojet

This paper presents a dynamic system approach for the modeling of fluid flow in microchannels to be used in thrust control applications. A micro-resistojet fabricated using MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) technology has been selected for the analysis. The device operates by vaporizing a liquid propellant, in this case water, and expelling...

Green micro-resistojet research at Delft University of Technology: the new frontiers of Cubesat propulsion

The aerospace industry is recently expressing a growing interest in green, safe and non-toxic propellants for the propulsion systems of the new generation of space vehicles, which is especially true in the case of Cubesat micro-propulsion systems. Demanding requirements are associated to the future missions and challenges offered by this class...

State space modeling of fluid flow for thrust control in mems-based micropropulsion

This paper presents a dynamic system approach for the modeling of fluid flow in microchannels to be used in thrust control applications. A micro-resistojet fabricated using MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) technology has been selected for the analysis. The device operates by vaporizing a liquid propellant, in this case water, and expelling...