Experiments
Thrusters Group
Cold-Gas Propulsion
More than fifty years have passed since the launch of Sputnik I. Roughly the size of a beach ball and weighing approximately 184 pounds, it became the world’s first small satellite. In the decades since, highly capable small-scale systems have become almost commonplace in the aerospace community, popular for designs that maximize existing components and off-the-shelf technology in an effort to reduce development time and overall costs.
For many small satellites or small satellite constellations, the onboard propulsion system is a fundamental design element. In formation flight missions, for instance, an adequate propulsion system is critical in conducting attitude and orbit correction maneuvers in flight. There are three primary propulsion options in use on spacecraft: cold-gas, chemical, and electric. Cold-gas systems are the safest and simplest method and still produce adequate thrust to meet the requirements of prolonged orbital maneuvers.
Students at UMR have designed a cold-gas thruster system utilizing the refrigerant R-134a as propellant (shown above). Maintaining a liquid in a zero gravity environment introduces numerous design challenges. The ingestion of liquid R-134a in the propellant lines is a primary concern, as this will diminish available thrust and consume significantly greater fuel mass. To address this concern, the Miners in Space thrusters team has composed an experiment to test the effectiveness of a Propellant Management Device (PMD) for control of liquid R-134a movement under microgravity conditions. The team submitted a proposal for the 2008 flight campaign and is currently awaiting reply from the reduced gravity program.
Microgravity University at Johnson Space Center | 2003 Archive
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