Micro-Propulsion and Power Developments at AIT

The increasing application of micro-satellites (from 10 kg up to 100 kg) as well as CubeSats for a rising number of various missions demands the development of miniaturized propulsion systems. The Austrian Institute of Technology is developing a number of micropropulsion technologies including both electric and chemical thrusters targeting high-performance at small scales. Our electric propulsion developments include FEEP thrusters with thrust ranges from μN to mN using highly-integrated clusters of indium Liquid-Metal-Ion Sources providing ultralow thrust noise and long-term stability, as well as the development of a micro PPT thruster enabling pointing capabilities for CubeSats. For chemical thrusters, we are developing novel micro-monopropellant thrusters with several hundred mN as well as a 1-3 N bi-propellant micro rocket engine using green propellants and high specific impulse performance. This paper will give an overview of our micropropulsion developments highlighting performance as well as possible applications.