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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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