Space Systems/loral, LLC

California Institute of Technology

Jorge Delgado

Dan M Goebel

Gordon C Wu

Darren R Stratemeier

Lenny Low

Xen Price

Jeff Aaron Baldwin

Peter W Lord

Ronald W King

David Younghee Oh

Christopher Bryan Stell

Bao Hoang

Saghir Munir

Lee Charles Rotlisberger

Yassir Azziz

Maria Eugenia Torres

Justo Jacinto

Gregory Alan Carr

Denis Trofimov

Bryan Bowdle

Michelle Karen Rahn

A spacecraft includes a propulsion subsystem including at least two electric thrusters, an electrical interface assembly that couples electrical conductors from the thrusters to a spacecraft harness, a pneumatic interface assembly that controls flow rate of propellant to the thrusters and a thruster support module (TSM) including a pointing arrangement and a mounting arrangement. A proximal portion of the mounting arrangement is coupled with a distal portion of the pointing arrangement; the at least two electric thrusters are disposed on a distal portion of the mounting arrangement; the electrical interface assembly and the pneumatic interface assembly are disposed on the proximal portion of the mounting arrangement. The mounting arrangement is configured to limit heat transfer between the thrusters and (b) one or more of the proximal portion of the mounting arrangement, the electrical interface assembly and the pneumatic interface assembly.

Multiple thruster firing on a single articulable module

A spacecraft includes a power train that includes a solar array, an electric propulsion subsystem, and a power conversion module. The power conversion module receives power from the solar array at a voltage, V; and delivers power to the electric propulsion subsystem at a voltage, V. The spacecraft is configured to operate at a varying distance, D, from the sun within the range of Dto D, Dbeing at least 1.3&#xd7;D. The solar array is configured to deliver power to the power conversion module at a voltage approximately equal to Vwhen the spacecraft is proximate to D.

Power train for deep space solar electric propulsion

A spacecraft propulsion system includes at least one chemical thruster operable with a liquid propellant, at least one electric thruster operable with an inert gas, and a first quantity 'n' of pressurant tanks, each of the 'n' pressurant tanks having a substantially identical volume. The propulsion system results from assembling a plurality of subassemblies, such that a first selectable number &#x2018;e&#x2019; of the first quantity of pressurant tanks are manifolded together with the at least one electric thruster, and a second selectable number &#x2018;c&#x2019; of the first quantity of pressurant tanks are manifolded together with the at least one chemical thruster. The first selectable number &#x2018;e&#x2019; is an integer in the inclusive range of 1 to &#x2018;n&#x2019;, and c=n&#x2212;e.

Flexible propulsion system

Apparatus and methods for raising the orbit of a satellite having electric propulsion thrusters, an Earth sensor and an inertial reference sensor such as a gyro. A satellite positioning system generates orbital data and a profile generator generates an ideal electric orbit raising profile of the satellite. The ideal profile is one that the satellite must follow so that the perigee, apogee and inclination of the satellite can be adjusted simultaneously in a mass-efficient manner. A state machine processes the ideal profile and a true anomaly to generate a desired electric orbit raising profile. Steering apparatus generates signals that are used to control the attitude of the satellite to follow the desired profile. The desired profile places the satellite in an Earth-pointed attitude when the satellite is at a predefined point in the orbit, slews the satellite from the Earth-pointed attitude to an ideal orbit raising attitude, steers the satellite according to the ideal profile during orbit raising, and steers the satellite from the desired attitude to the Earth-pointed attitude.

Satellite orbit raising using electric propulsion

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Jorge Delgado