Microfabricated electrospray emitter arrays with integrated extractor and accelerator electrodes for the propulsion of small spacecraft
Simon Dandavino,Caglar Ataman,Charles Ryan,Subha Chakraborty,Daniel G. Courtney,John P. W. Stark,Herbert Shea +6 more
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TLDR
In this article, a new generation of micro-fabricated electrospray thrusters is presented for the first time integrating in the fabrication process individual accelerator electrodes capable of focusing and accelerating the emitted sprays.Abstract:
Microfabricated electrospray thrusters could revolutionize the spacecraft industry by providing efficient propulsion capabilities to micro and nano satellites (1–100 kg). We present the modeling, design, fabrication and characterization of a new generation of devices, for the first time integrating in the fabrication process individual accelerator electrodes capable of focusing and accelerating the emitted sprays. Integrating these electrodes is a key milestone in the development of this technology; in addition to increasing the critical performance metrics of thrust, specific impulse and propulsive efficiency, the accelerators enable a number of new system features such as power tuning and thrust vectoring and balancing. Through microfabrication, we produced high density arrays (213 emitters cm−2) of capillary emitters, assembling them at wafer-level with an extractor/accelerator electrode pair separated by micro-sandblasted glass. Through IV measurements, we could confirm that acceleration could be decoupled from the extraction of the spray—an important element towards the flexibility of this technology. We present the largest reported internally fed microfabricated arrays operation, with 127 emitters spraying in parallel, for a total beam of 10–30 µA composed by 95% of ions. Effective beam focusing was also demonstrated, with plume half-angles being reduced from approximately 30° to 15° with 2000 V acceleration. Based on these results, we predict, with 3000 V acceleration, thrust per emitter of 38.4 nN, specific impulse of 1103 s and a propulsive efficiency of 22% with <1 mW/emitter power consumption.read more
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Space micropropulsion systems for Cubesats and small satellites: from proximate targets to furthermost frontiers
Igor Levchenko,Igor Levchenko,Kateryna Bazaka,Yongjie Ding,Yevgeny Raitses,Stéphane Mazouffre,Torsten Henning,Peter J. Klar,Shunjiro Shinohara,Jochen Schein,Laurent Garrigues,Minkwan Kim,Dan R. Lev,Francesco Taccogna,Rod Boswell,Christine Charles,Hiroyuki Koizumi,Yan Shen,Carsten Scharlemann,Michael Keidar,Shuyan Xu +20 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight the most promising developments reported at the 2017 International Workshop on Micropropulsion and Cubesats (MPCS-2017) by leading world-reputed experts in miniaturized space propulsion systems.
Journal ArticleDOI
Comparing Direct and Indirect Thrust Measurements from Passively Fed Ionic Electrospray Thrusters
TL;DR: In this article, the thrust output from three prototype devices, two emitting the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium-bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and one emitting 1-methyl-3methylamide-tetrafluoroborate, was measured directly using a precise balance.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ion thrusters for electric propulsion: Scientific issues developing a niche technology into a game changer.
K. Holste,Patrick Dietz,S. Scharmann,Konstantin Keil,Torsten Henning,D. Zschätzsch,M. Reitemeyer,B. Nauschütt,F. Kiefer,F. Kunze,J. Zorn,Christian Heiliger,N. Joshi,U. Probst,R. Thüringer,Chris Volkmar,D. Packan,S. Peterschmitt,K. T. Brinkmann,H.-G. Zaunick,Markus H. Thoma,Michael Kretschmer,H. J. Leiter,Stefan Schippers,Klaus Hannemann,Klaus Hannemann,Peter J. Klar +26 more
TL;DR: The transition from old space to new space along with increasing commercialization has a major impact on space flight, in general, and on electric propulsion (EP) by ion thrusters, in particular.
Journal ArticleDOI
A review of MEMS micropropulsion technologies for CubeSats and PocketQubes
TL;DR: This paper reviews the current development status of micropropulsion systems fabricated with MEMS (micro electro-mechanical systems) and silicon technology intended to be used in CubeSat or PocketQube missions and compares different technologies with respect to performance parameters such as thrust, specific impulse, and power as well as in terms of operational complexity.
Journal ArticleDOI
SLA 3-D Printed Arrays of Miniaturized, Internally Fed, Polymer Electrospray Emitters
TL;DR: In this paper, the design, fabrication, and characterization of arrays of miniaturized, internally fed, polymer electrospray emitters fabricated with stereolithography was reported, and the free-form additive manufacturing process used to make the devices has associated two orders of magnitude reduction in the fabrication cost per device and fabrication time (from thousands of dollars to tens of dollars, and from months to hours).
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