A new “best of both worlds” rocket system could enable tiny satellites to perform multiple manoeuvres in space using a single fuel tank.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, US have developed a rocket propulsion system that combines the power and speed of traditional chemical thrusters with the precision and efficiency of electric thrusters.
Chemical thrusters enable small satellites to perform short, fast manoeuvres, such as quickly ascending or descending, while electrical or electrospray thrusters enable them to perform slower but more precise manoeuvres, such as travelling bit by bit through space. Combining the two types of thruster could give small satellites more flexibility in space and would mean that they would only have to carry one fuel system.
“If you can have chemical and electrical propulsion in one small package, it’s the best of both worlds,” said Amelia Bruno, a former postdoc in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics....