SUMMARY:
UCLA researchers in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering have developed air-breathing electric thrusters that would allow satellites to operate in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) for a wide array of applications.
BACKGROUND:
The majority of spacecraft operate in low Earth orbit (LEO) due to the many advantages of operating near the Earth. However, most spacecraft do not operate at or below 450 km altitude, or very low Earth orbit (VLEO), because of atmospheric drag. Compensating for that increased drag requires that the spacecraft carry more fuel, which increases their mass, cost, and mission lifetime. In both private and public sectors there has been a strong push towards the use of satellites operating in VLEO. Military and commercial applications of VLEO spacecraft are highly attractive due to their abilities to capture higher resolution images, threat avoidance, and rapid replenishment. A thruster that could ingest particles from the upper atmosphere and use it as propellant would not need onboard propellant tanks. This would allow the spacecraft to be made much smaller and lighter, and the life of the spacecraft would be significantly extended. Current air-breathing thruster designs have encountered difficulties ingesting sufficient air to provide adequate thrust to compensate for drag.
INNOVATION:
UCLA researchers in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering have developed an air-breathing spacecraft thruster which can provide thrust for drag compensation, orbit raising, and other maneuvers. This new system would ingest air from the upper atmosphere to use as propellant and will allow a spacecraft to operate below 450 km altitude (VLEO). The invention significantly increases thruster performance, allowing thrust-to-drag ratios greater than one. Furthermore, the thrusters are flexible and can be used on other celestial bodies with atmospheres, such as Mars. These new air-breathing electric thrusters would allow for the development of further VLEO spacecraft for use in a wide array of applications spanning both private and public sectors.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
- Propulsion systems
- Aerospace systems
- Space strategy
- Reconnaissance monitoring
- Environmental monitoring
- Infrastructure monitoring
- Maritime surveillance
- Disaster monitoring
- Telecommunications
ADVANTAGES:
- Specified propulsion capabilities
- Low-cost
- Reliable launch systems
- Long-life
- Space missions in VLEO (low altitudes)
- High-bandwidth, low latency communication
DEVELOPMENT TO DATE:
First description of complete invention.