CUBESAT AND NANO
The ENPULSION NANO propulsion systems are designed specifically to meet the mobility needs of Nano Satellites and CubeSat missions. The fully integrated nano satellite propulsion systems do not require any propellant management, and no additional filling operations. They include the propellant, propellant subsystem as well as power processing unit, all in one compact building block with outside dimensions below 1U and highest specific impulse.
The ENPULSION NANO propulsion systems
To best meet the mobility requirements for Nano Satellites and CubeSats the ENPULSION NANO propulsion systems are designed for compactness, ease of integration, precision, reliability, and highest specific impulse and draw on the learnings of close to 200 ENPULSION propulsion systems already in space.
Covering the mobility requirements of spacecraft of up to around 25kg, the ENPULSION NANO is the perfect cubesat propulsion system and nano satellite propulsion system. It is modular in design, and can be clustered to meet any specific mission need. As it is using pre-qualified modules (building blocks), this customization can be done without increasing the cost or lead times of the satellite propulsion systems.
The ENPULSION NANO propulsion systems
To best meet the mobility requirements for Nano Satellites and CubeSats the ENPULSION NANO propulsion systems are designed for compactness, ease of integration, precision, reliability, and highest specific impulse and draw on the learnings of close to 200 ENPULSION propulsion systems already in space.
Covering the mobility requirements of spacecraft of up to around 25kg, the ENPULSION NANO is the perfect cubesat propulsion system and nano satellite propulsion system. It is modular in design, and can be clustered to meet any specific mission need. As it is using pre-qualified modules (building blocks), this customization can be done without increasing the cost or lead times of the satellite propulsion systems.
Highest ISP and precision
While the required power to operate the ENPULSION NANO starts at around 10 W, at higher thrust levels one can choose between high thrust and high specific impulse operation. The ENPULSION NANO can operate at an ISP range of 2,000 to 6,000 s. At any given thrust point, higher ISP operation will increase the total impulse, while it will also increase the power demand. The thruster can be operated along the full dynamic range throughout the mission.
This means that high ISP and low ISP maneuvers can be included in mission planning, as well as high-thrust orbit maneuver and low-thrust precision control maneuvers. The firmware of the ENPULSION NANO has been optimized with lessons learnt from close to 200 of ENPULSION’s propulsion systems already in space.
Mature Technology
Field Emission Electric Propulsion (FEEP) produces thrust by ions and an applied electrostatic field. By changing the field’s parameters, thrust and specific impulse can be varied as required. In a FEEP thruster, the solid metal propellant indium is liquified in orbit, and a strong electrostatic field extracts, ionizes and accelerates the propellant from the ion emitter.
The ENPULSION FEEP technology has no moving parts, and the propellant is in solid state during launch. The lack of pressurized tanks and gaseous, liquid, and reactive propellants avoids any risks of propellant containment during launch. ENPULSION’s propulsion systems have no pressurized components, and no hazardous materials, which makes testing, integration and launch preparation as easy as possible.
The FEEP technology was developed under ESA contracts for > 30 years. 1 000 + emitters have been tested and an ongoing lifetime test has demonstrated > 30 000 hours of firing without degradation of emitter performance.
FLIGHT HERITAGE
ROBUST
VERSATILE
Heritage and reliability
With close to 200 propulsion systems in space, more than 300 propulsion systems delivered to customers worldwide and more than 150 years of accumulated on-orbit operation, ENPULSION is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric propulsion systems for nano- and microsatellites.
ENPULSION is supporting more than 40 customers on 4 continents from its headquarters in Austria, as well offices in the US and France. Its products are based on the company’s proprietary Field-Emission Electric Propulsion (FEEP) technology, behind which are more than 30 years of research and development work in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the FOTEC Research Facility.
