A Review of Propulsion Systems for CubeSats

Páscoa, José; Teixeira, Odelma; Filipe, Gustavo

doi:10.1115/imece2018-88174

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The specific impulse of these devices is in the same magnitude order of what is observed in GIE, HET or PEGASES thrusters, i.e. ∼10 3 s. However, the thrust capability of electrospray system is limited to ∼0.1 mN [24], while GIE and HET can provide ∼10 2 mN [24] thrust. PEGASES thruster should provide similar thrust as GIE and HET.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Expansion of alternatively extracted ion–ion beam in a low pressure collisional medium

Oudini

Bendib

2020

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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The aim of this paper is to investigate, through particle-in-cell with Monte Carlo collisions (PIC-MCC) simulations, the effects of collisions on the expansion of an ion–ion beam formed by the alternate extraction of oppositely charged ions. This beam is extracted from an ion–ion plasma, formed in the downstream of a radiofrequency magnetically filtered iodine electronegative plasma, by the mean of two extraction grids. In this grid system, the screen grid is biased with a square voltage waveform, in the low MHz range, while the acceleration grid is grounded. The collisionless interaction between the extracted ion packets involves and enhances electrostatic waves propagating at beam velocity. Our results show that in addition to these electrostatic waves, the presence of significant fraction of low energy ions, produced by charge exchange, beside extracted fast ions gives rise to two-stream instability. Furthermore, space and time dependent electric field might accelerate the slow ions, produced by charge exchange collision. This acceleration, involving Landau damping and its inverse mechanism, is mainly due to the interaction between ions and potential patterns inherent to two-stream instability.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Expansion of alternatively extracted ion–ion beam in a low pressure collisional medium

Oudini

Bendib

2020

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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“…The requirement to manage all 6 degrees of freedom accurately during the manoeuvre has resulted in selecting a cold gas propulsion system. This technology has an established history in a range of OOS scenarios [30][31][32]. The underlying concept behind this technology is gas expansion, by which high-pressure, low-velocity gas is converted into high-output forces.…”

Section: Propulsive Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomous docking manoeuvre Testing in the framework of the ERMES experiment

Bortotto,

Agli,

Pozzato

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The advent of the recent ”New Space Economy” allowed access to low-Earth orbits to a rising number of commercial enterprises, non-profit groups, and educational institutions. As a consequence, the global small satellite market has grown substantially, since they have proven to be a suitable low-cost alternative for several space missions and technological demonstrations. In this context, proximity operation systems for autonomous small satellites are continuously under investigation, due to their effectiveness for many applications. Experimental Rendezvous in Microgravity Environment Study (ERMES) is a student project, which aimed at testing an autonomous docking manoeuvre between two free-flying CubeSats mock-ups in a reduced gravity environment. The manoeuvre is characterized by an active Chaser and cooperative Target approach. In particular, the Chaser is equipped with a cold gas propulsive system based on expendable CO2 cartridges for 3-dimensional manoeuvring, whereas the Target has a set of reaction wheels for attitude control. The magnetic post-manoeuvre connection is achieved thanks to a dedicated miniaturized docking interface. Moreover, the reduced gravity conditions have been achieved by participating in the European Space Agency (ESA) 79th Parabolic Flight Campaign thanks to the selection in the ESA Fly Your Thesis! Programme 2022 (FYT). This article depicts an overview of the ERMES experiment, discussing its core objective and key design solutions, up to analyzing the results of the tests carried out during the aforementioned Parabolic Flight Campaign. Relevant focus is dedicated to the investigation of the functionality and effectiveness of the Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) system of the Chaser.

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“…The ever-demanding nanosatellite missions are the main drivers for improvements and expansion of current attitude control solutions. The technology advancement in nanosatellite reaction wheels and thrusters for attitude maneuvers has seen significant improvements [11], [12]. Some of nanosatellites equipped with thrusters are MarCO [13] and POPSAT-HIP1 [14], while reactions wheels were flown within Aalto-1 [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of Magnetorquer-Based Attitude Control Subsystem for FORESAIL-1 Satellite

Jovanovic

Riwanto

Niemelä

et al. 2021

IEEE J. Miniat. Air Space Syst.

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Magnetorquer based attitude control system capable of attaining high spin rates and precise pointing control is required for a 3U CubeSat satellite FORESAIL-1. The satellite, developed by Finnish Centre of Excellence, needs to maintain a spin rate of 24 • /s and precise pointing of the spin axis toward the Sun for the particle telescope instrument, as well as to reach 130 • /s spin rate for the deployment of the plasma brake. Mission requirements analysis and attitude system requirements derivation are presented, followed by actuator trade-off and selection, with detailed design of the complete attitude control system, including air-cored type of magnetorquer actuators and their drivers, made of H-bridge and filtering components. The design is based on several theoretical and practical considerations with emphasis on high power efficiency, such as effects of parallel and serial magnetorquer connections, modelling the magnetorquers with equivalent circuit models for finding of suitable driving frequency and extrapolation methods for efficient dipole moment usage. In-house manufacturing process of magnetorquers, using a custom 3D-printer setup, is described. Lastly, the testing and verification are performed, by measuring the performance of the manufactured hardware, circuit simulations and attitude control simulations. It is shown that the manufactured attitude control system fulfils all system requirements. Simulations also confirm the capability to satisfy mission requirements.

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A Review of Propulsion Systems for CubeSats

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

Expansion of alternatively extracted ion–ion beam in a low pressure collisional medium

Expansion of alternatively extracted ion–ion beam in a low pressure collisional medium

Autonomous docking manoeuvre Testing in the framework of the ERMES experiment

Design of Magnetorquer-Based Attitude Control Subsystem for FORESAIL-1 Satellite

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