Title:
Design of a Green Monopropellant Propulsion System
for the Lunar Flashlight Mission
Design of a Green Monopropellant Propulsion System
for the Lunar Flashlight Mission
Author(s)
Andrews, Dawn
Lightsey, E. Glenn
Lightsey, E. Glenn
Advisor(s)
Editor(s)
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Abstract
The Lunar Flashlight Mission is a lunar-bound small satellite that will investigate the
Moon’s poles for water ice. Aboard the spacecraft is a green monopropellant propulsion
system that has been designed by the Georgia Institute of Technology under sponsorship
and guidance by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Green monopropellant propul sion is a forthcoming technology that promises improvements in performance and safety
over existing monopropellant systems such as Hydrazine, making it a very desirable new
technology, and Lunar Flashlight will be the first mission to utilize this propulsion on a
CubeSat platform. The design solution for the Lunar Flashlight Propulsion System will be
shared, as well as the story behind its evolution through the design process. Additionally,
several key aspects of its design that are fundamental to green monopropellant propul sion will be collected in contribution to a design methodology for future iterations. This
project is intended to continue on to launch with the Artemis-1 Mission, at which point
the propulsion system would complete its objectives of contributing flight heritage to this
technology while acting as a critical component for the Lunar Flashlight Mission.
Sponsor
Date Issued
2019-12-12
Extent
Resource Type
Text
Resource Subtype
Masters Project
Rights Statement
Unless otherwise noted, all materials are protected under U.S. Copyright Law and all rights are reserved