20140821 - Dr. JP Sheehan - A Propulsion System for CubeSATs

Dr. J.P. Sheehan will give the night's presentation, entitled “A Propulsion System for CubeSATs”. CubeSats are disrupting the economics of the space industry and space science. Their standard form factor, small size, and low cost opens space missions to a huge number of new participants. Deployed as secondary payloads, they are set to drift in an often sub-optimal orbit. A propulsion system with significant delta-V capability would greatly enhance CubeSat capabilities, allowing polar orbits, highly elliptical orbits, and even deep space exploration. The CubeSat Ambipolar Thruster is designed specifically to fit a CubeSat form factor and to operate at low powers while being able to provide up to 1 km/s of velocity change. This plasma propulsion engine uses a helicon plasma source and a novel permanent magnet nozzle to generate thrust. 3D printing allows for low cost manufacture of complex components and rapid iteration.

Dr. J.P. Sheehan received a PhD in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 2012. He is currently a Research Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Michigan. He has expertise in the area of plasma physics, and is working on a miniature plasma thruster for small satellites, and investigating the basic physics of plasma in converging/diverging magnetic nozzles. He is also a member of the American Physical Society, the American Vacuum Society, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

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