Project description
Advancing systems for new electric iodine thrusters
Propulsion systems operating on iodine offer a sustainable, competitive and low-cost alternative to traditional propellants. The EU-funded iFACT-MP project aims to advance iodine-fed propulsion systems working in the mid-power range (3-5 kW). Project activities include upscaling the Advanced Cusp Field Thruster (ACFT) and neutraliser at Airbus Friedrichshafen and developing a fluidic chain at Airbus Toulouse. Furthermore, Fraunhofer IKTS will work on improving the C12A7 emitter ceramics of the iodine-fed neutraliser, a major building block of iodine propulsion; Airbus Elancourt will develop a breadboard power processing unit for control and operation; the University of Pisa will provide an optical flow meter for performance characterisation; Aerospazio will create a suitable iodine-compatible testing facility; and EASN TIS will ensure efficient dissemination to the targeted communities.
Objective
iFACT-MP (iodine Fed Advanced Cusp field Thruster for Mid-Power) aims to develop an iodine fed thruster subsystem for the 3-5 kW range. The activity will include work on all the critical building blocks required to enable the realisation of an iodine EP subsystem. This encompasses the upscaling of the Advanced Cusp Field Thruster (ACFT) to that power range at Airbus Friedrichshafen and the development of the fluidic chain at Airbus Toulouse, consisting of the heated iodine reservoir, piping and flow control for the thruster as well as the neutraliser. Further, the necessary verification and formalisation of the fluidic design and iodine handling procedures will be performed to enable the implementation and integration of iodine EP subsystems on platform level. A major building block required to enable a completely iodine based EP chain is an iodine fed neutraliser. For this purpose, further improvements and modifications on C12A7 emitter ceramics will be performed by Fraunhofer IKTS, in close collaboration with the iodine cathode development at Airbus. To validate the necessary control and operational schemes, a breadboard PPU will be developed by Airbus Elancourt that includes all the required supplies, telemetry and functionalities to enable autonomous control of the thruster subsystem. To enable rapid and accurate characterisation of the developed thruster subsystem's performance, an optical iodine flow meter will be developed and integrated by University of Pisa. As currently no test facility exists to perform thruster testing at that power level, a suitable iodine compatible vacuum chamber including a thrust balance and diagnostics will be developed at Aerospazio. This facility will enable full characterisation and 500 h endurance testing of the developed thruster subsystem. To maximise the impact of the project, EASN will coordinate the public presence and communication, dissemination and exploitation activities.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryhalogens
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringceramics
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HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
82024 Taufkirchen
Germany