The Moon as an effective propellant source: A comprehensive exergy analysis from extraction to depot

Establishing a permanent lunar base has gained increasing attention since it offers opportunities for international cooperation and the commercialization of space, forming the foundation and testing ground for a human existence independent from Earth. Essential to future missions beyond cislunar space is the exploration and in situ processing...

Enabling Interplanetary Exploration for CubeSats with a Fully Chemical Propulsion System

Interplanetary CubeSat missions are currently becoming more popular, with a significant number of recently planned missions. The context of this paper is a Mars mission, starting from a parking orbit around Earth: the adoption of a chemical propulsion system for the Earth-Mars transfer phase is investigated, considering the recent...

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...

Review of state-of-the-art green monopropellants: For propulsion systems analysts and designers

Current research trends have advanced the use of “green propellants” on a wide scale for spacecraft in various space missions; mainly for environmental sustainability and safety concerns. Small satellites, particularly micro and nanosatellites, evolved from passive planetary-orbiting to being able to perform active orbital operations that may...

Modular impulsive green-monopropellant propulsion system for micro/nano satellites high-thrust orbital maneuvers (MIMPS-G)

Innovation in small-satellite modern space missions and applications require propulsion capabilities to enable active operations in orbit, such as formation flying, rendezvous operations, orbital altitude & inclination changes, and orbital transfers,– generally, operations demanding high-thrust impulsive maneuvers. In addition, Green...

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...