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Completed TRL 4 (started at 3, targeting 4)
Develop a low toxicity peroxide-ethanol monopropellant thruster for CubeSats in the 20 mN thrust class with equivalent or better performance than hydrazine using microtube combustion.
A peroxide-ethanol monopropellant catalytic microtube thruster for CubeSats will be developed with a specific impulse of about 200 s at about 20 mN thrust comparable to that of hydrazine but with an order of magnitude less toxicity reducing the ground operations costs. Volume and power constraints for cubesats are addressed by the liquid propellant storage and the usage of less than 3 W of low voltage DC power to activate the catalyst.
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