NASA is working with commercial partners to create high-performing, reliable propulsion systems that will help small spacecraft safely maneuver in orbit, reach intended destinations across the solar system, and accomplish mission operations.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two new micropropulsion technologies are being tested in space onboard a CubeSat called DUPLEX (Dual Propulsion Experiment) that deployed into low Earth orbit from the International Space Station on Dec. 2. The CubeSat is fitted with two thruster systems that use spools of polymer fibers to provide performance levels of propulsion comparable to existing systems but with greater safety during assembly and more affordability.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the propulsion technologies is a fiber-fed pulsed plasma thruster system which employs an electric pulse to vaporize Teflon material and uses the resulting ions to deliver strong, efficient thrust while using very little fuel. The other propulsion technology is a monofilament vaporization propulsion system \u2013 inspired by 3D printers \u2013 which heats and vaporizes a common polymer material known as Delrin to create continuous thrust.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On orbit, DUPLEX will test its advanced propulsion systems by raising and lowering its orbit over two years, demonstrating the systems\u2019 capabilities to maintain a vehicle\u2019s orbit over time. Micropropulsion solutions enable a variety of cost-efficient capabilities necessary for operators in a bustling low Earth orbit economy, including maintaining and adjusting orbits to avoid debris or nearby spacecraft, and coordinating maneuvers between spacecraft to perform maintenance, inspections, and other critical activities. The systems tested on DUPLEX can also make spacecraft capable of lower cost extended missions in areas that are farther from Earth, such as the Moon and Mars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Technologies like those demonstrated onboard DUPLEX open the door for U.S. industry to provide efficient, affordable spacecraft systems for various space-based applications, building a stronger orbital economy to meet the needs of NASA and the nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The DUPLEX spacecraft was developed by Champaign-Urbana Aerospace in Illinois. NASA\u2019s Small Spacecraft and Distributed Systems<\/a> program at the agency\u2019s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s Silicon Valley supported the development, with funding from the Small Business Innovation Research<\/a> program and a 2019 Tipping Point industry partnership award through the agency\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASA is working with commercial partners to create high-performing, reliable propulsion systems that will help small spacecraft safely…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[43024,74791,18,19,915,17,125834,133,125835,8702],"class_list":{"0":"post-237869","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-ames-research-center","9":"tag-cubesats","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-international-space-station-iss","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-sbir-sttr","15":"tag-science","16":"tag-small-spacecraft-technology-program","17":"tag-space-technology-mission-directorate"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115736217184259083","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}