Testing of a small Water Resistojet Thruster in Zero-G flight experimental campaign
Résumé
The rapid increase in the number of satellites in orbit, coupled with the growing complexity of their missions and the high risk of collisions, underscores the urgent need for low-cost, compact, reliable, and high-thrust onboard propulsion systems. Traditionally, cold gas nitrogen systems have been favored for their simplicity, combining high reliability with low cost. However, these systems suffer from low specific impulse and poor storage densities. An alternative propellant of interest is pure water. Water is inexpensive, nontoxic, and can be stored in liquid form. Its abundance in the solar system and its low molecular mass enable a high specific impulse. However, there are drawbacks: the water must be very pure, it must be kept from freezing, and additional power is required for vaporization. Finding cost-effective, easy-to-handle propellants is crucial for space agencies
and private enterprises worldwide. While traditional systems and advanced options like krypton and xenon have their merits and drawbacks, water emerges as a promising candidate despite its storage and handling challenges. As the quest for green propellant continues, water potential benefits make it an attractive area for further research and development. A small electrothermal water-fueled propulsion thruster was developed and
tested at the ICARE laboratory in France. The thruster comprised a spherical tank for liquid water and pressurized gas (air), two printed electronic circuit boards based on the Arduino Nano microcontroller, a vaporization chamber, and a convergent-divergent nozzle for expanding the vapor. The input power remained below 100 W with a scalable thrust in the mN range and a specific impulse below 100 s. Due to the different behavior of liquids
in the absence of gravity, the thruster was tested in a zero-gravity flight campaign March 2024. The purpose of the experiments was to compare the performance on the ground with that in a weightless condition. The experimental flight campaign (VP177) was organized by the NoveSpace company in Bordeaux with the AirZeroG airplane. To the best of our knowledge, it was the first time a water-fed Resistojet was operated in a vacuum chamber
during a 0-g flight. In this contribution, we shall present the architecture of the waterfueled resistojet and characteristics obtained in microgravity flight experiments. Details about the vaporization chamber will be given as it is a critical component of the propulsion system. Indeed, in the absence of gravity, vaporization must be effective to avoid droplet formation during the expansion process, therefore ensuring high performance.
Domaines
Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]Origine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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