LISA Pathfinder First Flight Electrospray Thruster

In 2008, Busek delivered eight electrospray thruster clusters to NASA’s JPL for the NASA/ESA LISA Pathfinder mission, ST7. This technology demonstration mission was undertaken to prepare for the Laser Interferometry Space Antenna (LISA), a gravity wave observatory. The purpose of the Busek Electrospray Thrusters is to counteract small (micro-Newton) disturbance forces in a very precise manner, requiring precision on the order of 100 nano-Newtons. The Electrospray Thruster Clusters, the culmination of a 6-year development effort, consist of complete systems of thrusters, feed systems, propellant storage, power electronics, and a digital control interface unit. LISA Pathfinder launched in December 2015, and all electrospray thruster units were successfully commissioned in January 2016, after being stored fully fueled for nearly eight years. After reaching Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 1, the thrusters accumulated an average of 2,500 hours of operation each and met 100% of mission goals. This ground-breaking technical effort earned Busek the 2008 paper of the year award by the AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference Electric Propulsion Technical Committee and a 2017 Electric Propulsion Outstanding Achievement Award for the successful flight demonstration. NASA also awarded Busek’s Founder Dr. Vlad Hruby the Exceptional Public Achievement Medal in 2017 for Busek’s contributions. The technology and its derivatives have direct applications in deep-space laser communications, formation-flight, star-shades, sun-shades, and propulsive ACS.