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Satellites in Geostationary Orbit for long-duration missions in excess of 5 years encounter perturbations to their trajectories over time. These spacecraft perform maneuvers periodically to compensate for drift and orbital decay called "station keeping" maneuvers.

An electrothermal rocket engine is method of propulsion by which an inert gas stored at ambient temperature (cold gas) is released from a pressurized vessel or driven by a pump and heated electrically before being expelled out of a nozzle. Two proven methods of electrothermal propulsion are "resistojets," which use conventional heat exchangers to heat the propellant, and "arcjets," which pass the propellant through an electrical arc to heat the gas.

This type of propulsion system is advantageous for use by long-life satellites since the engines may be small in size, have few moving parts, and do not use combustible fuels. Resistojet and arcjet engines produce less thrust than chemical rocket engines, but are more efficient, do not require ignition, and are easy to store for long periods.

Project Name

SPEX Electrothermal Thruster

Project Number

P17101

Project Family

Aerospace Systems

Start Term

2161

End Term

2168

Faculty Guide

Vincent Burolla

Primary Customer

RIT Space Exploration

Sponsor (financial support)

Boeing

Planning & Execution

Project Photos and Videos

Imagine RIT

Problem Definition

Systems Design

Preliminary Detailed Design

Detailed Design

Build & Test Prep

Subsystem Build & Test

Integrated System Build & Test

Integrated System Build & Test with Customer Demo

Customer Handoff & Final Project Documentation