Feed and Pressurization Systems and Architectures for Green Chemical Micro-Propulsion

Green monopropellants play a crucial role in advancing propulsion systems for micro and nanosatellites, offering enhanced performance and safety compared to hydrazine. The development of feed and pressurization systems, particularly for CubeSats, poses a contemporary challenge impacting propulsion system efficiency, onboard power consumption, and spacecraft size optimization. As small satellites transition from passive planetary orbiting to active orbital operations necessitating impulsive maneuvers, there is a growing need for innovative primary propulsion systems. This emphasizes the demand for high-thrust, small-size propulsion systems utilizing green monopropellants due to their advantageous physiochemical properties and simplified system designs compared to gaseous and bipropellant alternatives. The exploration of feed and pressurization systems for small satellite propulsion encompasses conventional pressurization techniques and introduces unconventional approaches such as autogenous pressurization and micro electric pump feed cycles. Miniaturized propulsion system architectures struggle with the optimization of limited onboard space in small-sized spacecraft. Recent trends indicate a significant interest in conceptualizing and employing multi-mode propulsion configurations, integrating various propulsion types such as cold-gas, monopropellant, bipropellant, and electric propulsion. This chapter delves into the challenges and discussions surrounding the main architectures utilizing multi-mode configurations of green monopropellants in conjunction with other propulsion methods.