Space

New propulsion system gets CubeSats moving with teaspoons of water

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A team from Purdue University has developed a propulsion system for CubeSats that can turn the craft using jets of water
Purdue University/Erin Easterling
Graduate student Katherine Fowee and postdoctoral research associate Anthony Cofer, who worked on the water-based CubeSat  propulsion system
Purdue University/Erin Easterling
One of the thrust cells that steers the CubeSat
Purdue University/Erin Easterling
The Purdue prototype was a CubeSat measuring 10 cu cm (0.6 cu in) and weighing just 2.8 kg (6 lb)
Purdue University/Erin Easterling
A team from Purdue University has developed a propulsion system for CubeSats that can turn the craft using jets of water
Purdue University/Erin Easterling
The Purdue CubeSat was built with off-the-shelf electronic components that are normally used for Internet of Things devices
Purdue University/Erin Easterling
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Inexpensive and compact CubeSats are great for certain missions, but their simplicity can limit their applications. For one, most of them don't pack their own propulsion systems, instead hitchhiking into orbit aboard other satellite launches. Now, to make CubeSats more maneuverable, a team from Purdue University has developed a system that would allow the mini satellites to safely propel themselves by spraying jets of ordinary water.

The Purdue prototype was a CubeSat measuring 10 cm3 (0.6 in3) and weighing 2.8 kg (6 lb), loaded with off-the-shelf electronic components normally used for Internet of Things devices. There's a computer that wirelessly receives instructions and relays them to an inertial measurement unit that works out how to act on them. But the star of the show was the propulsion system, dubbed a Film-Evaporation MEMS Tunable Array (FEMTA) thruster.

One of the thrust cells that steers the CubeSat
Purdue University/Erin Easterling

Four of these FEMTA thrusters were built into the prototype, each one carrying about a teaspoon of ultra-purified water. The tank is full of capillaries about 10 microns wide, which is too small for the water to flow out thanks to its surface tension. To control when it escapes, small heaters around the edges of these holes can be activated on demand, warming the water into vapor and creating tiny blasts that turn the craft.

Not only is water a cheap, plentiful and safe fuel, but the system is very energy efficient as well. Tested in a vacuum chamber, the FEMTA CubeSat managed a thrust-to-power ratio of 230 micronewtons per watt for each 80 second spray.

"This is a very low power," says Alina Alexeenko, lead researcher on the project. "We demonstrate that one 180-degree rotation can be performed in less than a minute and requires less than a quarter watt, showing that FEMTA is a viable method for attitude control of CubeSats."

The Purdue prototype was a CubeSat measuring 10 cu cm (0.6 cu in) and weighing just 2.8 kg (6 lb)
Purdue University/Erin Easterling

The current model used four thrusters, allowing it to rotate along one axis, but a CubeSat in orbit would need to be able to adjust itself in three dimensions, and so would need to pack a full suite of 12 thrusters. Scaling it to an actual space mission is the ultimate goal for the team.

The researchers are presenting the prototype at the AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites this week, and the team describes their work in the video below.

Source: Purdue University

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3 comments
anthony
Just think, given people can buy the very same Raspberry Pi used in these things and with some training could build a rocket booster to get it into low earth orbit - anyone technically has the capability to launch one of these things and have their own spy satellite in orbit.
Both proud and just a little scared at the prospect of that.
Bob Flint
Since we did not see any shielding, I assume they have taken into account the heat and cold of space and the effects that has on the tiny metallic cube, as well as the thermal contraction & expansion.
SimonClarke
I agree with Bob on the temperature issue. One side of the Cube sat will be +250 C, the other side will be -250 C. therefore one will vent off instantaneously and potentially explosively. The other side will freeze expanding the tank to bursting point. But I am sure that they have considered this.