Scientists develop water-powered thruster for small satellites
科学家为小型卫星开发水动力推进器
A team of engineers working with the European Space Agency (ESA) has created a new water-powered thruster, without using toxic chemicals. Called Iridium Catalysed Electrolysis CubeSat Thruster (ICE-Cube Thruster), it measures smaller than a fingertip. ICE-Cube Thruster recorded 1.25 millinewtons of thrust in tests, making it suitable for small CubeSats that usually launch as secondary payloads on space missions. This small thruster was built at Imperial College in the UK.
与欧洲航天局(ESA)合作的一支工程师团队已经创建了一个新的水动力推进器,而不使用有毒化学物质。这种推进器被称为铱催化电解CubeSat推进器(ICE-Cube Thruster),其大小小于指尖。在测试中,ICE-Cube推进器记录了1.25毫牛的推力,使其适用于通常作为太空任务的次要有效载荷发射的小型CubeSat。这个小推进器是在英国的帝国学院制造的。