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Nanoengineered thrusters for the next giant leap in space exploration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 October 2015

Paulo C. Lozano ,
Brian L. Wardle ,
Padraig Moloney  and
Suraj Rawal
Paulo C. Lozano
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA; plozano@mit.edu
Brian L. Wardle
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA; wardle@mit.edu
Padraig Moloney
Affiliation:
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, USA; padraig.moloney@lmco.com
Suraj Rawal
Affiliation:
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, USA; suraj.p.rawal@lmco.com
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Abstract

The physics underlying operation of cold (room-temperature) ionic-liquid emitter sources for use in propulsion shows that such thrusters are advantaged relative to all other “rockets” because of the direct scaling of power with emitter array density. Nanomaterials and their integration through nano- and microfabrication can propel these charged-particle sources to the forefront and open up new applications including mass-efficient in-orbit satellite propulsion and high-thrust-density deep-space exploration. Analyses of electrostatic, fluid-dynamic, and electrochemical limits all suggest that arrays of such ionic-liquid thrusters can reach thrust densities beyond most in-space propulsion concepts, with a limit on nanoporous thruster packing density of ∼1 μm due to ionic-liquid viscous flow and electrochemistry. Nanoengineered materials and manufacturing schemes are suggested for the implementation of microfabricated and nanostructured thruster arrays.

Keywords

fluidicsionic conductorMEMSnanostructureporosity
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Bulletin , Volume 40 , Issue 10: Engineered Nanomaterials in Aerospace , October 2015 , pp. 842 - 849
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

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