The proposed feedsystem has applicability for all liquid-based propellant applications where low power and high packing density are critical design constraints. Specific application to green monopropellant thrusters addresses NASA's need for 1N-scale chemical propulsion for its small spacecraft and CubeSat development efforts, such as NASA Edison. Spacecraft micropropulsion systems with Systima's miniaturized pump can be used for orbit maintenance, fine attitude control, troubleshooting and maintenance, and potential needs for quick response at relatively high Isp. Green monopropellant micropropulsion systems offer safer handling, reduced system complexity, decreased launch processing times and increased performance compared to conventional hydrazine micropropulsion systems, and are well suited for a wide range of NASA spacecraft missions. Green monopropellants offer advantages in performance and reduced handling infrastructure for commercial and military micro satellites, and allow for modular designs for low cost rapid access to space capabilities. Micropropulsion systems with Systima's miniaturized pump system can be used for orbital insertion or transfer, stationkeeping, and attitude control. There also continues to be interest in 'multi-mode' propulsion where a shared propellant such as AF-M315E can be utilized by both chemical and electric thrusters to provide high thrust/low Isp and low thrust/high Isp capability using a single propellant. Other potential customers include green propulsion system and satellite developers such as Aerojet Rocketdyne and Skybox Imaging that could use this technology to reduce propulsion system power demands and provide increased satellite payload capacity.
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