NPT30 - A stand-alone electric propulsion system for small satellites
- Paper number
IAC-18,C4,8-B4.5A,8,x48573
- Author
Dr. Ane Aanesland, France, ThrustMe
- Coauthor
Dr. Dmytro Rafalskyi, France, ThrustMe
- Year
2018
- Abstract
ThrustMe has developed a complete electric space propulsion system for next generation satellites. This system consists of a revolutionary ion thruster, power and control electronics, propellant storage and feed system, all integrated into a complete stand-alone product. Our lowest power system, the NPT30, has undergone a series of ground tests including direct thrust measurements, beam divergence and neutralization tests. The NPT30 is embedded into a 1U Cubesat module when operating on iodine and a 2U Cubesat module when operating on xenon. Operating with xenon, the NPT30 has a demonstrated thrust in the range 0.2-0.9 mN for a total input power (including all losses in the power processing units) of about 30-60 W. Theoretical and numerical models have been developed to describe the propulsion system operation, performance and lifetime, and predictions are in close agreement with experimental results.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)