Research & Development

µPPT Thrusters

The trend to microsatellites and even satellites in the 1 kg range (picosats) necessitates the development of miniaturized spacecraft components such as the propulsion system. Electric propulsion systems are obviously the first choice for microsatellites due to their, in comparison to chemical propulsion, much higher specific impulse and the resulting mass savings.

AIT develops a miniaturized Pulsed Plasma Thruster (µPPT) suitable for application on micro- and pico-satellites. PPTs (see fig. 1) are especially amenable to miniaturization due to their structural simplicity, the utilization of solid propellants, and their uniquely low power requirements. These advantageous properties, together with the extensive PPT flight experience collected in the last decades, makes this system uniquely advantageous for small satellite application.

Exploiting a recently developed technique to significantly improve the electric properties of a PPT it is expected not only to develop a suitable µPPT system but also to improve standard scale systems.

The AIT µPPT system will be a "ready to use" system with integrated electronics and external structure designed for convenient integration into various satellite structures including satellites such as CubeSats.

Aspired properties of the AIT µPPT are summarized in the following table.

AIT µPPT

• Impulse bit 10 – 30 µNs
• Specific impulse > 500 s
• Total impulse 50 -500 Ns
• Power 1-2 W
• Weight below 100 g (including electronics)

Fig. 1: Operating PPT