SBIR-STTR Award

Precision Electrospray Thruster Assembly (PETA)
Award last edited on: 1/14/2015

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NASA : JPL
Total Award Amount
$830,509
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
-----

Principal Investigator
Francois H Martel

Company Information

Espace Inc

30 Lynn Avenue
Hull, MA 02045
   (781) 925-3893
   fm@space.mit.edu
   N/A
Location: Single
Congr. District: 08
County: Plymouth

Phase I

Contract Number: ----------
Start Date: ----    Completed: ----
Phase I year
2011
Phase I Amount
$99,627
New low cost, low volume, low power, rugged electrospray thrusters will be ideal as actuators for precision thrusting, if provided with precision high voltage power supplies. The small thrusters show minimum thrusts of 1.2 nanoNewton, and thrusts scalable in a wide range to hundreds of microNewtons, with an ISp of 3500 sec. We propose in Phase I to develop, test and characterize with electrospray thrusters a high-precision high-voltage power supply optimized for fine control of the thrusters, and designed to support accurate formation flying of space telescope elements, and precision alignment and stabilization of space platforms. The Phase I HV supply design will be developed in Phase II into a cubesat format Precision Electrospray Thruster Assembly including thrusters, and ready for flight tests. At the end of Phase II PETA units will be provided as protoflight avionics to be flown, tested and qualified.

Phase II

Contract Number: ----------
Start Date: ----    Completed: ----
Phase II year
2012
Phase II Amount
$730,882
New low cost, low volume, low power, rugged electrospray thrusters will be ideal as actuators for precision thrusting, if provided with precision high voltage power supplies. The small thrusters show minimum thrusts of 1.2 nanoNewton, and thrusts scalable in a wide range to hundreds of microNewtons, with an ISp of 3500 sec. We propose to develop and test a high-precision high-voltage power supply optimized for fine control of the thrusters, and designed to support accurate formation flying of space telescope elements, and precision alignment and stabilization of space platforms. The HV supply design will be developed into a cubesat format Precision Electrospray Thruster Assembly including thrusters, and ready for flight tests of the technology. At the end of Phase II PETA units will be provided as protoflight avionics to be flown, tested and qualified.