Imperial College Develops Missile Engine for Cubesats Using Silicon Microcircuits Technology
Imperial College has developed a small, missile engine called the “Iridium Catalyted Elect Rolysis Cubesat Thruster” (Ice-Cube Thruster) using techniques originally designed for creating silicon microcircuits. This significant engineering achievement addresses the challenge of developing missile engines that are compatible with Cubesats, which make up about 90% of satellite launches weighing less than 10 kg.
The Ice-Cube Thruster, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), meets the miniature criteria required for Cubesats. The entire engine is approximately the length of a nail, with the combustion chamber and nozzle measuring only 1 mm in length. It operates using only 20 watts of electric current and has demonstrated a thrust of 1.25 million with a specific impulse of 185 seconds during tests.
However, the most notable feature of the Ice-Cube Thruster is its use of water as a propellant. By decomposing water into hydrogen and oxygen, the engine generates the required thrust for maneuvering the Cubesat. This innovative approach significantly reduces the mass of cargo as water does not require pressurization, making storage and processing systems lighter and simpler.
The manufacturing of the combustion chamber and nozzle was achieved utilizing the Micro-Electrical Mechanical Systems (MMMS) technique, which is commonly used for processing silicon plates with submicrometer thickness. This unorthodox approach not only solves the engineering challenge but also enables mass production of these miniature engines.