TY - GEN
T1 - Low pressure ignition testing of a hybrid smallsat motor
AU - Jens, Elizabeth T.
AU - Karp, Ashley C.
AU - Wiliams, Kyle
AU - Nakazono, Barry
AU - Rabinovitch, Jason
AU - Dyrda, David
AU - Mechentel, Flora
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 by American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All rights reserved.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - A Poly[Methyl MethAcrylate] (PMMA) and Gaseous Oxygen (GOx) hybrid motor was tested under a flight-like (low pressure) environment, maturing the technology to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5. The goal of this testing was to mature a restartable hybrid motor with an Isp greater than 300 s and a design that could provide 800 m/s of ∆V to a 25 kg wet spacecraft, which could support the science needs of future interplanetary SmallSat missions. The hybrid propulsion system tested here is compact enough to fit within 12U, but flexible enough to be scaled to meet different mission requirements. The chosen propellant combination is nontoxic, facilitating its integration as a secondary payload. A flight-like motor was designed, built and tested. An existing vacuum chamber at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was brought back online and adapted to test the motor. A new feed system was also assembled with a flight-quality main oxidizer valve. The reference mission, Mars orbit insertion and Phobos/Deimos flybys, suggested 8 to 12 maneuvers may be needed, leading to the selection of 24 motor restarts to demonstrate a factor of two margin. These burns are required to complete trajectory correction maneuvers, orbit insertion, and post-insertion maneuvers. As a result, 24 ignitions were demonstrated using two different igniter technologies in a vacuum environment.
AB - A Poly[Methyl MethAcrylate] (PMMA) and Gaseous Oxygen (GOx) hybrid motor was tested under a flight-like (low pressure) environment, maturing the technology to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5. The goal of this testing was to mature a restartable hybrid motor with an Isp greater than 300 s and a design that could provide 800 m/s of ∆V to a 25 kg wet spacecraft, which could support the science needs of future interplanetary SmallSat missions. The hybrid propulsion system tested here is compact enough to fit within 12U, but flexible enough to be scaled to meet different mission requirements. The chosen propellant combination is nontoxic, facilitating its integration as a secondary payload. A flight-like motor was designed, built and tested. An existing vacuum chamber at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was brought back online and adapted to test the motor. A new feed system was also assembled with a flight-quality main oxidizer valve. The reference mission, Mars orbit insertion and Phobos/Deimos flybys, suggested 8 to 12 maneuvers may be needed, leading to the selection of 24 motor restarts to demonstrate a factor of two margin. These burns are required to complete trajectory correction maneuvers, orbit insertion, and post-insertion maneuvers. As a result, 24 ignitions were demonstrated using two different igniter technologies in a vacuum environment.
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U2 - 10.2514/6.2019-4009
DO - 10.2514/6.2019-4009
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85095970761
SN - 9781624105906
T3 - AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum and Exposition, 2019
BT - AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum and Exposition, 2019
T2 - AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum and Exposition, 2019
Y2 - 19 August 2019 through 22 August 2019
ER -