Development of an Indium mN-FEEP Thruster

Vasiljevich, I.; Grienauer, W.; Plesescu, F.; Buldrini, N.; Amo, J. Gonzalez del; Carnicero-Dominguez, B.; Betto, Maurizio

doi:10.2514/6.2008-4534

Cited by 25 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…= Field Emission Electric Propulsion IFM = Indium FEEP Multiemitter mN-FEEP = FEEP with around 1 mN of thrust LMIS = Liquid Metal Ion Source IOD = In -Orbit Demonstration 1 Researcher, Aerospace Engineering, jelem@fotec.at 2 Deputy Head of Department, Aerospace Engineering, seifert@fotec.at 3 Researcher, Aerospace Engineering, buldrini@fotec.at 4 Researcher, Aerospace Engineering, hoerbe@fotec.at 5 CEO, reissner@enpulsion.com 6 Spacecraft Engineer at ESA, torsten.vogel@esa.int…”

Section: Feepmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A design that combines the advantages of solid and capillary emitters is the porous Tungsten emitter which can be infiltrates the propellant. Initially developed in Japan [2], FOTEC has further investigated this technology and developed a highly efficient process to produce a circular array of 28 such needle emitters [3] which forms the core of the Indium FEEP Multi-emitter (IFM) technology. More than 10 years of development efforts have resulted in a highly efficient ion source, which builds the foundation for the current success of the IFM thruster family.…”

Section: Iintroductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Performance Mapping and Qualification of the IFM Nano Thruster FM for in Orbit Demonstration

Jelem¹,

Seifert²,

Sypniewski³

et al. 2017

53rd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference

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The Aerospace Department at FOTEC has been developing the mN-FEEP technology under ESA research contracts for the last decades with the purpose to create a highly controllable and efficient propulsion technology for future science missions. The mN-FEEP thrusters use a crown of sharpened porous Tungsten needles which are wetted with liquid Indium. This crown is raised to a high positive potential to emit and accelerate In + ions. This thruster technology has undergone extensive testing in recent years, including performance mapping of more than hundred emitters and lifetime testing up to more than 13.000 h. Based on this technology, the IFM Nano thruster has been developed as a commercial product for small satellites. This integrated ion propulsion system fits into a volume of less than a single unit CubeSat. In 2017, the first flight model has been manufactured to be flown on an in-orbit demonstration mission, supported by the ESA IOD program ATLAS. This paper presents the results from the extensive test campaigns on proto-flight model level, including efficiency mapping of all subsystems and the validation of the neutralization strategy. The results show that the IFM Nano thruster design is fully functional and provide an outlook on the performance to be expected during in-orbit operation.

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Section: Feepmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Iintroductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Mapping and Qualification of the IFM Nano Thruster FM for in Orbit Demonstration

Jelem¹,

Seifert²,

Sypniewski³

et al. 2017

53rd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference

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“…The LMIS clusters are presently at a higher technology-readiness levels (TRLs) due to extensive development and testing especially during the GOCE and LISA pathfinder satellite programs [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. A multiemission tip LMIS based on porous tungsten is presently under development for an mN-FEEP thruster targeting the needs of future Earth observation missions [13]. It enables much smaller designs, thus saving volume and weight.…”

Section: Indium Feep Thrustersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We, therefore, decided to design a multitip emitter using porous tungsten needles in order to combine the advantage of high electrical impedance with excellent stability. The emitter is manufactured using the micropowder injection moulding technique (µ-PIM) [13,14]. A special feedstock is prepared using tungsten micropowders and the needle structure is formed using dedicated moulding tools.…”

Section: Multitip Feep Thrustermentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Electric and Chemical Microthrusters

Scharlemann

2011

International Journal of Aerospace Engineering

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The increasing application of microsatellites (from 10 kg up to 100 kg) as well as CubeSats for a rising number of various missions demands the development of miniaturized propulsion systems. Fotec and The University of Applied Sciences at Wiener Neustadt is developing a number of micropropulsion technologies including both electric and chemical thrusters targeting high performance at small scales. Our electric propulsion developments include a series of FEEP (field emission electric propulsion) thrusters, of which the thrust ranges from µN to mN level. The thrusters are highly integrated into clusters of indium liquid-metal-ion sources that can provide ultralow thrust noise and long-term stability. We are also developing a micro PPT thruster that enables pointing capabilities for CubeSats. For chemical thrusters, we are developing novel micromonopropellant thrusters with several hundred mN as well as a 1-3 N bipropellant microrocket engine using green propellants and high specific impulse performance. This paper will give an overview of our micropropulsion developments at Fotec, highlighting performance as well as possible applications.

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“…For several years, FOTEC has developed the mN-FEEP thruster to be used in future ESA missions [1]. This thruster can provide highly accurate thrust ranging from 1μN to above 1mN [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of A Low Cost PPU For Feep Electric Propulsion Using Cots Components

et al. 2017

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In the frame of the development of an electric-propulsion thruster for Micro-and Nanosatellites, FOTEC has put forward the in-house development of a low cost PPU, capable of driving the thruster with up to 10 kV emitter and -10 kV extractor voltage. After 5 generations of development, the PPU currently used in a thruster testing and qualification campaign has achieved 85% total efficiency including high voltage multiplier stages and protection circuitry. The PPU includes the functionality of the step-up conversion for emitter and extractor, propellant heating and neutralizer-operation within a volume of 90 x 94 x 78 mm, at a weight of less than 230 g and a total cost in production of less than € 1,000. This low cost approach using COTS components is targeting constellations and mega-constellations and is certainly the other extreme compared to the conventional design approach for spacecraft PPUs. In the light of the ongoing discussions of a change in the philosophy of designing spacecraft, going from fail-safe components to a "mass production" strategy which aims for fail-safety by redundancy. This paper also gives a starting point for the discussion on how a possible tradeoff between cost and reliability can be achieved.

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Development of an Indium mN-FEEP Thruster

Cited by 25 publications

References 8 publications

Performance Mapping and Qualification of the IFM Nano Thruster FM for in Orbit Demonstration

Performance Mapping and Qualification of the IFM Nano Thruster FM for in Orbit Demonstration

Development of Electric and Chemical Microthrusters

Development of A Low Cost PPU For Feep Electric Propulsion Using Cots Components

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