Filament pulsed plasma thruster (FPPT)
CU Aerospace
Fiber-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster (FPPT) provides high specific and total impulse for small satellites, available in various form factors.
Typed specifications48 values
Discloses 9 of 10 fields engineers filter by in this category (category median 3).
- Propulsion family
- electric datasheet p.1
- Mass
- 3.03 kg Total mass · datasheet p.3 3.03 kg total propulsion wet mass
- Thrust
- 0.08 mN Nominal, Pulse Rate 0.64 Hz · datasheet p.2 0.21 mN Nominal, Pulse Rate 1.6 Hz | 0.275 mN peak continuous | 0.275 mN max · peak continuous thrust at 55 W input power | 0.08 mN nom. · 0.64 Hz +1
- Envelope (L×W×H)
- 21.7 x 9.0 x 8.65 cm3 datasheet p.3 21.7 x 9.0 x 8.65 cm envelope, as printed in cm
- Specific impulse
- 4 685 s maximum · datasheet p.1 4 685 s max
- Total impulse
- 29 000 N·s peak · datasheet p.1 35 800 N·s System Information table | 29 000 N·s max · peak total impulse, intro text | 1 000–600 000 N·s
- Propellant
- PTFE (Teflon) PTFE (Teflon) fiber · datasheet p.1
- Supply voltage
- 12 V nom. · 12V power interface · datasheet p.2 12 V power interface
- Power consumption
- 16.5 W Nominal Power to PPU, Pulse Rate 0.64 Hz · datasheet p.2 41.3 W Nominal Power to PPU, Pulse Rate 1.6 Hz
- Data interface
- RS-422 datasheet p.2 UART TTL-level UART
- Operating temperature
- -40–75 °C system temperature range · datasheet p.1
- TRL
- 8 datasheet p.1
- Thruster technology
- pulsed plasma (PPT) datasheet p.1
- Volume
- 1.7 U datasheet p.1
- Propellant mass flow
- 0.002 mg/s nom. · 0.64 Hz · datasheet p.1 0.004 mg/s nom. · 1.6 Hz
- Min impulse bit
- 130 mN·s minimum · datasheet p.2 130 mN·s min
- Propellant mass (full load)
- 780 g datasheet p.1
- Power at thrust
- 16.5 W nominal power to PPU, 0.64 Hz · datasheet p.1 55 W input power | 41.3 W nominal power to PPU, 1.6 Hz | 55 W max · input power at peak continuous thrust
- Time to thrust
- 0 s fires on demand without warmup · datasheet p.1
- Flight heritage
- FPPT flight unit integrated into CUA's NASA-funded DUPLEX 6U CubeSat, launched and deployed in late 2025; operation and thrust vector capability validated on orbit datasheet p.1
- Satellite class
- CubeSat datasheet p.1
- Missions flown
- 1 datasheet p.1
- Delta-v
- 3 700 m/s for 10 kg S/C wet mass · datasheet p.1
- Reference spacecraft mass for delta-v
- 10 kg datasheet p.1
- Thrust vector control
- other gimbal-less thrust vectoring · datasheet p.1
- Pulse repetition rate
- 0.5 Hz steady operation demonstrated · datasheet p.1 0.64 Hz table mode 1 | 1.6 Hz table mode 2 | 3 Hz max · capability in shorter duration burns
Each value is typed with its unit and measurement condition and cites the datasheet page it was taken from. Nothing is guessed: a field that is absent here has not been published by the manufacturer. machine-extracted ✓ checked by NewSpace Market ✓ manufacturer confirmed by the manufacturer.
As published by the supplier6 lines, in the manufacturer's own wording
- Minimum specific impulse
- 3,500 s
- Thrust vectoring
- ±5 degrees
- Volume range
- 0.7 to 53 liters
- Total impulse range
- 1,000 to 600,000 N-s
- Package size for >25,000 N-s total impulse
- 1.7 liters
- Pulse duration
- 10 microseconds
About
The FPPT system uses a PTFE fiber propellant and offers high specific impulse exceeding 3,500 s. It includes electromagnetic thrust vectoring of approximately ±5 degrees in pitch and yaw. The thruster is available in different sizes, from 0.7-liter to 53-liter, to provide total impulses ranging from 1,000 N-s to 600,000 N-s. The 1.7-liter package offers a total impulse greater than 25,000 N-s.
Documentation
Need the full ICD, test reports or a specific revision? Ask the supplier directly.