Low-Cost and High-Performance Propulsion for Small Satellite Applications

While small satellites continue to show immense promise for high-capability and low-cost missions, they remain limited by post-deployment propulsion for a variety of activities like precision maneuvering, orbit change and controlled re-entry / recovery. Furthermore, any on-board propulsion system capable of providing sufficiently high delta-V is likely to impose constraints on handling, storage, operations and safety that may limit consideration as a secondary payload. Ventions proposes to overcome these limitations by developing a compact, light-weight and low-cost 3U cubesat propulsion system that uses non-toxic propellants to provide approximately 125m/sec of delta-V within a 1kg and 100mm x 100mm x 100mm mass and size budget.