The U.S. Space Force has provided funding of $35 million to create a new spacecraft that can “maneuver without regret.”
The H9 Hall thruster, developed at U-M, pushed the boundaries of how much power a thruster of this size could use before a steep drop-off in efficiency.In the future, there could be a spacecraft capable of maneuvering with unprecedented speed and agility, without the constraints of limited fuel.
The team aims to combine the best of both worlds: the power of chemical rockets with the efficiency of electric propulsion. The key to this breakthrough lies in an advanced power source: a nuclear microreactor.“It will be the first to bring fast chemical rockets together with efficient electric propulsion powered by a nuclear microreactor,” the press release stated.Spacecraft propulsion systems generally fall into two categories: chemical rockets and electric propulsion.
In situations where rapid maneuvers are required, such as avoiding a collision, the speed provided by chemical propulsion might be essential.For instance, a 100-kilowatt Hall thruster developed at the University of Michigan could achieve impressive speeds. However, the challenge lies in providing the necessary power to operate these thrusters.
“The space station generates about 100 kilowatts of power, but the solar arrays are the size of a couple of football fields, and this is too large for some of the power-hungry applications that are of interest to the Space Force,” said Benjamin Jorns, associate professor of aerospace engineering and institute director.
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