Integrated pulsed propulsion system for microsatellite

摘要

A propulsion system and, in particular, a microthruster for a microsatellite. The microthruster may be formed as a resistojet type thruster formed with a chamber, closed by a diaphragm which acts as a blow-out disk. A fluid, such as an inert gas, is disposed within the chamber. Heating of the gas causes the gas pressure to increase until the diaphragm ruptures, which, in turn, causes the gas to flow out of the chamber, acting as a propellant, and providing a small unit force. The microthruster is adapted to be formed by known batch processing methods with 10<4>-10<6> microthrusters per wafer. The unit of force can be easily scaled by varying the number of microthrusters 20 used for an application, the geometry of the chamber 22, as well as the type of fluid used within the chamber, to suit the microsatellite application.