Patent ID: 11242844

Abstract:
A Fiber-fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster (FPPT) utilizes a motor to feed PTFE fiber to its discharge region, enabling high PPT propellant throughput and variable exposed fuel area. A highly parallel ceramic capacitor bank lowers system specific mass. Impulse bits (I-bits) from 0.057-0.241 mN-s have been measured on a thrust stand with a specific impulse (Isp) of 900-2400 s, representing an enhancement from state-of-the-art PPT technology. A 1 U (10 cm×10 cm×10 cm, or 1 liter) volume FPPT thruster package will provide 2900-7700 N-s total impulse, enabling 0.6-1.6 km/s delta-V for a 5 kg CubeSat. A 1 U design variation with 590 g propellant enables as much as ˜10,000 N-s and a delta-V of 2 km/s for a 5 kg CubeSat. Increasing the form factor to 2U increases propellant mass to 1.4 kg and delta-V to 10.7 km/s for an 8 kg CubeSat.