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Bogong Thruster, a cold gas thruster with Naphthalene propellant

Presented by:

Mahdi Davoodianidalik

Mahdi Davoodianidalik

SP3, ANU

 

Matthew Shadwell

SP3, ANU

 

Horst Punzmann

RSP, ANU

 

Dimitrios Tsifakis

SP3, ANU

 

Christine Charles

SP3, ANU

 

Roderick Boswell

Boswell Technologies


There is only a limited range of thrusters available for CubeSats that suits the size, power and thrust range required for these small-size satellites. The Space Plasma, Power and Propulsion (SP3) group, in association with Boswell Technologies, has designed, manufactured and tested the first Naphthalene base cold gas thruster, called Bogong. The first generation of Bogong is presently integrated into the Canberra company Skykraft's satellite for launch in November 2022 and subsequent orbital tests. Here, we present the steps we took in design and manufacturing, as well as operational tests and direct thrust measurements in the Wombat vacuum chamber at the research school of physics at ANU. Measurements show that Bogong can produce thrust in the range of 0.1-3mN. Further improvement on thrust, Isp and performance of Bogong, and opportunity for the Australian space industry to become involved in development will be presented.

Category:

Space engineering & technology, including Cubesats

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