12:00–1:00 pm Webinar
Paulo Lozano, MIT, "Fundamentals and Applications of Spacecraft Propulsion Based on Electrospray Ion Beam Sources"
Electric Propulsion (EP) brings many benefits for missions requiring significant changes in vehicle velocity due to the reduced propellant use, even as additional electronics tax the satellite mass and volume. EP would enable interesting astronomy, communications and exploration missions by providing small and relatively inexpensive spacecraft with station keeping, orbital transfer and deep-space travel capabilities. However, most EP technologies are challenging to miniaturize to the required levels, especially for nano/pico-satellites. In this talk we discuss these physical challenges and will describe the ion Electrospray Propulsion System (iEPS) as an example of an EP technology amenable for efficient miniaturization. Electrosprays are devices that produce emission and acceleration of charged particles from an electrically conductive liquid. The main benefit is their intrinsic small size, clustering potential in parallel MEMS-based arrays and high efficiency. In particular, the iEPS concept relies on the emission of molecular ions to produce thrust. Such configuration minimizes mass and volume allowing their use in spacecraft as small as the popular 1 kg CubeSats.
