![]() Iodine has low procurement cost: 90% less than Xenon Therefore no cryogenic or strict thermal control is required Iodine can be stored at moderate temperature (e.g., ambient temperature) and pressure (e.g., atmospheric pressure). The density of Iodine is three times higher than Xenon, in fact the former can be stored at the solid state this enables a higher total impulse for the same volume of propellant. Iodine is a particularly appealing propellant because of the following properties: In the last decade, particular effort has been put in studying and developing Iodine-based propulsion systems targeted at CubeSats and SmallSats. ![]() ![]() Finally, in 2019 the I2T5 from ThrustMe was the first Iodine propelled cold gas thruster ever tested in orbit it was integrated on a 6 U CubeSat. The In-orbit Demonstration (IoD) of the IFM Nano Thruster developed by the Austrian company Enpulsion consisted in changing the semi-major axis of a LEO orbit of several meters. In 2018 a Field Emission Electric Propulsion (FEEP) has been successfully tested on orbit for the first time. In the SERPENS mission (launched in 2015) a PPT was integrated on a 3 U CubeSat for drag compensation. It was launched in 2015, and four μCAT thrusters were used for attitude control. The BRICSat-P is a space mission in which a propulsion system has been integrated on a 1.5 U CubeSat. In the STRaND-1 mission (launched in 2013), a water-alcohol resistojet for attitude control and a Pulsed Plasma Thruster (PPT) for orbit change were combined in a 3 U CubeSat. In fact, a space thruster is an intrinsically complex device and strict volume, mass, power, and cost budgets overcomplicate its design. This is associated to the inherent difficulty of integrating a propulsion system into a SmallSat. The number of missions taking full advantage of a propulsion unit is still moderate, although rapidly increasing. In this frame, many research centers and companies (Enpulsion, Busek, Exotrail, ThrustMe, and AVS, just to name a few) are developing new propulsion systems for CubeSats and SmallSats. In fact, upcoming mission scenarios are increasingly complex since orbit change and maintenance are often required. ![]() Nonetheless, only an on-board propulsion system enables SmallSats to fully exploit their capabilities. Constellations of SmallSats (namely satellites with mass < 500 kg) in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) are entering the market to address the more and more demanding requirements imposed by new applications such as global internet coverage and Internet-of-Things (IoT). Combining this feature with a remarkable versatility, CubeSats allow small companies, small countries, and research centers entering the space market paving the way to a completely new paradigm. CubeSats have become increasingly common in recent years provided the dramatic reduced cost in respect to conventional satellites. ![]()
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