The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 04, 2019
Filed:
Apr. 08, 2015
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US);
Paulo C. Lozano, Arlington, MA (US);
Corey Patrick Fucetola, Somerville, MA (US);
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
Methods and apparatus of adding propellant to a thruster assembly are described. A first end of a beaker is disposed in an opening of the tank, where the beaker contains propellant and the first end of the beaker includes a breakaway bottom. The thruster assembly and beaker are placed in a first environment, where the first environment is substantially a vacuum and/or an environment composed substantially of gases that can be absorbed by the propellant. A plunger in the beaker is depressed to cause the breakaway bottom of the beaker to break and the propellant to flow into the tank of the thruster assembly. The thruster assembly is removed from the first environment and the beaker is removed from the opening. A cap is added to complete the assembly. The assembly contains a vent to allow gases to escape the interior of the tank.