Development of an advanced nano-satellite VELOX-II a micro-thruster system

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Ever since Russia’s launch of the Zond-2 satellite in 1964, over fifty years of research had been invested in the study of the first electric propulsion device to fly in space, the Pulsed Plasma Thruster. The Pulsed Plasma Thruster originated from the development of the vacuum arc switch. However, in lieu of its microsecond operation time, the nature of the operation and its internal dynamics remained obscure. The fabrication and operation costs of the Pulsed Plasma Thruster are very affordable, making it one of the more popular devices to research amongst international institutions, consequently contributing to its longevity.

Being fundamentally a satellite propulsion device, it holds capabilities that are unique to other propulsion systems. The thruster functions by catalyzing plasma formed in the accelerating electrodes (or nozzle) in bursts of distinct packets of thrust. The pulsated nature of the thruster would mean that energy is stored in capacitors between pulses, prepared for the next release. Storing energy over a period of time would mean that the varied power draw is only reliant on the frequency of the system pulse. This nature of the thruster allows the Pulsed Plasma Thruster to be extremely versatile, allowing performance of both altitude control maneuvers and velocity correction. Scaling the Pulsed Plasma Thruster is mechanically doable, but the performance of the thruster proved to depend linearly on the thruster’s capacitor’s ability to store energy.

The thesis herein encompasses the design of the Power Processing Unit that happen within a Pulsed Plasma Thruster through the sections of literature review and experimentation. Results have successfully met the requirements of the development of a Micro-Thruster System so as to facilitate the advancement of the Nano-satellite VELOX-II.