M i c r o P r o s
Thrust just Enough
A group of engineers and physicists from different parts of India
with a common goal to research and design a Green bipropellant based
CubeSat Thrusters
Project Overview
Design and development of CubeSat is an extensive area of research for several decades. CubeSat is a nanosatellite with cubic shape in nature. Compared to standard satellites the CubeSat gains its advantage with its compact size and minimal weight. The miniature design of CubeSat reduces the risk factors to the launch vehicle and the payload. These Nano-satellites offer reduced cost of deployment and can be launched in multiples. The CubeSat gains its importance in various fields such as academics where students can gain actual experience to cheaply launch and operate micro spacecraft in space. The day to day enhancement in cube sat research made it an investment for advanced technologies by several nations and organizations with limited budget. The CubeSat technology that is studied in this internship project is the propulsion system. The propulsion system is the primary mobility system of a spacecraft that helps with orbit modifications and attitude control with the help of power developed by thrusters. In this project we are designing a new propulsion module for a 3U CubeSat that will be used for deorbiting and collision avoidance in space. The propulsion system hence designed is highly efficient providing specific impulse greater than 300 seconds hence, utilizing maximum amount of fuel.
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A b o u t
M i c r o P r o s
External Guide and Mentor
Dr. Prakhar Jindal
Internal Guide
Mr. Vishnuvardhan Shakthibala
Team Leader
Mr. Shourya Singh
Asst. Team Leader
Miss. Sahela Khalid
T h e
MicroPros Team
Ahilash Kumar
Akash Kumar
Ambily G
Bhushan Prakash Thombare
Irfan Mujawar
Janani Shre
Jishnu Valappil Chandrashekaran
Kailash G
Khushi Shah
Pallikona Vivek
Prapti Joshi
Sahela Khalid
Sanchi Desai
Sanjay Neelakantaray Biradar
Shourya Singh
Tarun Gandhi
DESIGN OF A PROPULSION MODULE USING GREEN PROPELLANT FOR A 3U CUBESAT
Aims and Objectives
1. The present study aims in designing a green propellant based bi-propellant propulsion module for CubeSat In space-Propulsion
2. A 3U CubeSaT propulsion module will be designed and developed.
3. Green propellant based Bi-Propellant propulsion system will be used as the propulsion module
4. The CubeSat propulsion module design is achieved by developing the parts of the propulsion module. The parts in propulsion module is Frame, Fuel tank, Combustion chamber and Nozzle.
5. The different parts of the propulsion module will be assembled inside the 3U frame with proper space and dimensional constraint.
6. The performance parameters is achieved by calculations made on each part of the module.
7. Comparative study will be made between obtained results and previously available literature.
Abstract
A cubesat is basically a miniaturized satellite that is used for space research and has the dimensions in multiples of 10cm*10cm*10cm cubic units. Earlier cubesats were commonly used in low earth orbit for applications such as remote sensing and communications. CubeSats provide a cost effective means to perform scientific and technological studies in space. Due to their affordability, CubeSat technologies have been studied diversely and developed by various educational institutions and space organizations all over the world. The CubeSat technology that is studied in this internship project is the propulsion system. The propulsion system is the primary mobility system of a spacecraft that helps with orbit modifications and attitude control with the help of power developed by thrusters. In this project we are designing a new propulsion module for a 3U Cubesat that will be used for deorbiting and collision avoidance in space. One of the unique features that we will be inculcating in our project will be propulsion using green propellants that will be eco-friendly and produce less toxic gases. Hence, we have used a bipropellant, a mixture of Ethylene and Nitrous oxide with toxicity 0. The bipropellant used being an autogenous system does not need an additional pressurizing system and will be ignited automatically when the mixture will enter the combustion chamber. Due to these features our propulsion module uses only 1U space of the cubesat saving 2U for other systems. The propulsion system is highly efficient providing specific impulse greater than 300 seconds hence, utilizing maximum amount of fuel. Various calculations done using CEA software and the key design considerations for our propulsion module have been outlined in the report.
