Oxygen/Hydrogen Thruster Development for Space Mobility and Sustainability

机动性现在被视为在太空中赚钱的关键。航天器必须移动到目标轨道，移动以定位自己，移动以避免碰撞，并在其生命结束时移动到脱轨。到本世纪末，每个发射的航天器将至少有一个机动推进器，但目前航天器推进器的选择太慢，推进剂用完太快，而且经常使用面临监管逆风的有毒推进剂。航天器制造商被迫在低推力电力推进或低性能化学推进之间做出令人不快的选择。Protolaunch正在开发一种使用性能最高的化学推进剂--氧/氢--的自给式推进系统。Protolaunch的创新点火技术和正在申请专利的增压和储存技术首次允许这些推进剂用于小卫星。该项目旨在设计、制造和测试由氧气和氢推进剂提供动力的Protolaunch推进器的板式发动机，并将降低关键创新技术的风险。Protolaunch的自给式推进器为航天器提供：*更快的操纵**--加快创收时间。*更长的推进剂寿命**-增加创收寿命。*无毒推进剂**--降低地面处理成本并支持新的任务架构。

Mobility is now seen as essential to make money in space. Spacecraft must move to their target orbits, move to orient themselves, move to avoid collisions and move to de-orbit at the end of their lives. By the end of the decade, every spacecraft launched will have at least one mobility thruster.However, the current selection of thrusters for spacecraft are too slow, run out of propellant too quickly, and frequently use toxic propellants that are facing regulatory headwinds. Spacecraft manufacturers are forced to make an uncomfortable choice between low thrust electric propulsion or low performance chemical propulsion.Protolaunch is developing a self-contained propulsion system using the highest performing chemical propellants -- oxygen/hydrogen. Protolaunch's innovative ignition technology and patent pending pressurisation and storage technology allow these propellants to be used in SmallSats for the first time.This project seeks to design, build and test a breadboard engine of the Protolaunch thruster powered by oxygen and hydrogen propellants and will de-risk the critical innovative technologies.Protolaunch's self contained thrusters give spacecraft:* **Faster manoeuvres** -- speeding up time to revenue generation.* **Greater propellant lifetimes** -- increasing revenue generating lifetime.* **Non-toxic propellants** -- reducing ground handling costs and enabling new mission architectures.