CHIPS — CubeSat High Impulse Propulsion System
CU Aerospace
Miniaturized warm-gas resistojet propulsion system for CubeSats with integrated main thruster and 3-axis ACS.
Technical specifications
- Thruster type
- Warm-gas resistojet (superheater)
- Specific impulse (Isp)
- 40–50% higher than cold-gas Isp
- Total impulse (CHIPS-180)
- 180 N-s
- Package size (without ACS)
- As small as 0.3U
- Package size (with ACS)
- As small as 0.6U
- Propellants
- R134a (refrigerant), R236fa (range safety approved); non-toxic, inert, self-pressurizing
- ACS
- Up to 8 ACS thrusters, 6 DOF
- Valve cycles
- >120 million actuations proven
- Compatible platforms
- 3U or larger CubeSats
About
CU Aerospace’s CHIPS (CubeSat High Impulse Propulsion System) is a miniaturized, well-integrated propulsion solution for small satellites, combining a main thruster and a three-axis attitude control system (ACS). Utilizing CUA’s high-efficiency resistojet (superheater) technology with non-toxic, inert propellants (R134a refrigerant, R236fa), CHIPS provides a specific impulse 40–50% higher than cold-gas systems in a compact, low-risk package. The all-welded CHIPS-180 variant is an ultra-compact 0.54U fully throttleable system with 180 N-s of total impulse. Waste heat from the electronics and resistojet is regeneratively recovered to evaporate propellant, resulting in less than 1°C system temperature rise over ten-minute operating cycles. Proven valving has been cycled to greater than 120 million actuations. The ACS can be expanded to full 6 degrees of freedom with up to eight ACS thrusters. CHIPS can be customized in size and can also be packaged as a cold-gas-only system for reduced power requirements.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.
