Hydrogen storage materials for microthrusters: Basic performance analysis

The increasing market request for mini and microsatellites has led in the recent years to the development of small propulsion devices referred to as microthrusters. In the realm of microthruster different classifications have been made which help understanding the possible solutions depending on the satellite mass class and on the required thrust level. The present paper addresses thrusters for the class of microsatellites, that is that of satellites of 10100 kg mass. A novel solution is proposed for microthruster which is based on hydrogen storage by chemical bond in hydrogen rich materials. Hydrogen microthrusters are studied resorting to basic rocket science. The results allow one to get a first evaluation of the possible advantages achievable once the proposed materials will be made safely available. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.