The Technology
A reliable, non-magnetic, long lived Vacuum Arc Thruster (VAT) – the inline screw feeding vacuum arc thruster (ISF-VAT) is a mechanically controlled feeding mechanism. The feeding mechanism moves the cathode towards the exit plane in a helical path. This enables uniform erosion along the cathode circumference and a cathode liner motion that is matched to the radial erosion rate. At a prescribed rate, complete erosion of the cathode is achieved. Alongside the erosion a uniform re-coating of the cathodeinsulator-anode interface, which is critical for reliable operation over many pulses.
Advantages
- No magnetic interference
- Full utilization of the propellant mass, i.e. Cathode material
- Continuous and reliable feeding
Applications and Opportunities
- Nanosatellite with mass less than 10 kg
- Fine attitude control and drag compensation for larger spacecraft
- Spacecraft drag compensation
- Low power metal plasma source
- Material processing
Business Development Contacts