High Performance Micro PPT

Busek proposes to develop an advanced high total impulse (It), low wet mass (Mw) micro pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) system. The It/Mw ratio will be increased by an order of magnitude relative to the state-of-the-art (SOTA) which is the three axis micro PPT system called MPACS developed the FalconSat3 satellite. The product of the proposed effort will be an advanced MPACS package with ten times larger It/Mw over SOTA thereby exceeding the IHPRPT goals for electromagnetic propulsion. The effort will be focused on two key areas for innovation: clustering of Teflon propellant and electronics mass reduction. Optimization of the propellant system will provide higher performance and increased total impulse. Mass reduction will be achieved by developing a high voltage multiplexer. To augment the propellant system optimization a numerical modeling of the fundamental discharge physics and ablation process will be completed. This will aid in the understanding of the operation of the micro PPT as well as provide a tool for tailoring the micro PPTs performance for a particular market. The overall goal of this effort is a high ratio total impulse to wet mass version of the micro PPT as well as providing enhancement and risk reduction for the FalconSat3 program.