Bimodal Ion-Chemical Thruster System

A top candidate ldquo;greenrdquo; monopropellant proposed as a safe replacement for hydrazine in spacecraft systems is also shown in tests to be a high performance propellant for ion electrospray thrusters.nbsp;The proposed effort is to take full advantage of these remarkable characteristics to develop an efficient bimodal ion-chemical thruster system using a common propellant supply tank.The expected mass and volume savings, increased propellant use efficiency and the added flexibility in thrusting options (high thrust with moderate Isp and lower thrust with high Isp) will significantly augment thenbsp;operational propulsion and attitude control ranges, especially in small spacecraft applications.nbsp;The Phase Inbsp;task is to design and test an efficient propellant management system interfacing the high pressure monopropellant tank with the ion electrospray thruster arrays. This will pave the way for a complete protoflight development in Phase II, including multiple thruster arrays and control electronics that can be integrated into a space mission.