An atmosphere-breathing propulsion system using inductively coupled plasma source

• Published in: Chinese journal of aeronautics Vol. 36; no. 5; pp. 223 - 238
• Main Authors: ZHENG, Peng, WU, Jianjun, ZHANG, Yu, CHE, Bixuan, ZHAO, Yuanzheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2023; College of Aerospace Science and Engineering,National University of Defense Technology,Changsha 410073,China
• Subjects: Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP); CubeSat; Inductively coupled plasma; Intake device; Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO); Intake device; Inductively coupled plasma; Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP); CubeSat; Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO); Very Low Earth Orbit(VLEO); Atmosphere-Breathing Elec-tric Propulsion(ABEP)
• ISSN: 1000-9361
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cja.2023.03.003

CubeSats have attracted more research interest recently due to their lower cost and shorter production time. A promising technology for CubeSat application is atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion, which can capture the atmospheric particles as propulsion propellant to maintain long-term mission at very low Earth orbit. This paper designs an atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system for a 3 U CubeSat, which consists of an intake device and an electric thruster based on the inductively coupled plasma. The capture performance of intake device is optimized considering both particles capture efficiency and compression ratio. The plasma source is also analyzed by experiment and simulation. Then, the thrust performance is also estimated when taking into account the intake performance. The results show that it is feasible to use atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion technology for CubeSats to compensate for aerodynamic drag at lower Earth orbit.