Micro-A Thrusters
Micro Aerospace Solutions
Micro-A offers a range of monopropellant microthrusters from 0.005 N to 22 N, utilizing propellants like hydrogen peroxide, hydrazine, Tridyne gas, and cold gas, alongside custom propulsion system development.
Key figurescomparable across the catalogue
- Mass
- 0.01 kg
- Power
- 0.5 W
- Thrust
- 0.005 N
- Specific impulse
- 100 s
Normalised to common units so this product can be compared with others in its category. The supplier's own wording is below.
As published by the supplier
- Model
- M005HP
- Thrust
- 0.005 N
- ISP (sec.)
- 100
- Inlet pressure
- 350000 Pa
- Minimum impulse bit (N-sec)
- 1.2x10^-4
- Mass (grams)
- 10
- Exit diameter
- 3.81 mm
- Pulse life
- >500,000
- Power
- 0.5 W
- Model (2)
- M010HP
- Thrust (2)
- 0.1 N
- ISP (sec.) (2)
- 110
- Inlet pressure (2)
- 350000 Pa
- Minimum impulse bit (N-sec) (2)
- 9*10^-4
- Mass (grams) (2)
- 11
- Exit diameter (2)
- 5 mm
- Pulse life (2)
- >500,000
- Power (2)
- 0.5 W
- Model (3)
- M050HP
- Thrust (3)
- 0.5 N
- ISP (sec.) (3)
- 120
- Inlet pressure (3)
- 350000 Pa
- Minimum impulse bit (N-sec) (3)
- 4x10^-3
- Mass (grams) (3)
- 15
- Exit diameter (3)
- 6.35 mm
- Pulse life (3)
- >500,000
- Power (3)
- 1.0 W
- Model (4)
- M100HP
- Thrust (4)
- 1.0 N
- ISP (sec.) (4)
- 120
- Inlet pressure (4)
- 350000 Pa
- Minimum impulse bit (N-sec) (4)
- 8.5x10^-3
- Mass (grams) (4)
- 20
- Exit diameter (4)
- 7.6 mm
- Pulse life (4)
- >500,000
- Power (4)
- 2.0 W
- Model (5)
- M005
- Thrust (5)
- 0.005 N
- ISP (sec.) (5)
- 150
- Inlet pressure (5)
- 350000 Pa
- Minimum impulse bit (N-sec) (5)
- 1.7x10^-4
- Mass (grams) (5)
- 10
- Exit diameter (5)
- 3.81 mm
- Pulse life (5)
- >100,000
- Power (5)
- 0.5 W
- Model (6)
- M010
- Thrust (6)
- 0.05 N
- ISP (sec.) (6)
- 160
- Inlet pressure (6)
- 350000 Pa
- Minimum impulse bit (N-sec) (6)
- 6x10^-3
- Mass (grams) (6)
- 12
- Exit diameter (6)
- 4.45 mm
- Pulse life (6)
- >100,000
- Power (6)
- 0.5 W
- Model (7)
- M050
- Thrust (7)
- 0.5 N
- ISP (sec.) (7)
- 170
- Inlet pressure (7)
- 350000 Pa
- Minimum impulse bit (N-sec) (7)
- 3x10^-2
- Mass (grams) (7)
- 15
- Exit diameter (7)
- 8.9 mm
- Pulse life (7)
- >100,000
- Power (7)
- 1.0 W
- Model (8)
- M100
- Thrust (8)
- 1.0 N
- ISP (sec.) (8)
- 200
- Inlet pressure (8)
- 350000 Pa
- Minimum impulse bit (N-sec) (8)
- 3x10^-2
- Mass (grams) (8)
- 30
- Exit diameter (8)
- 8.9 mm
About
Micro-A develops a variety of microthrusters and propulsion systems for spacecraft, ranging in thrust from 0.005 Newtons to 22 Newtons. These systems can utilize various monopropellants including hydrogen peroxide, hydrazine, Tridyne gas (a mixture of nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen), and cold gas. Hydrogen peroxide offers moderate performance in a ‘green’ propellant package, while hydrazine provides higher performance and is used in many US government systems. Tridyne gas offers cold gas safety with performance comparable to hydrogen peroxide, providing a safe, non-toxic alternative for cubesats and other nanosatellites. The company also develops custom thruster systems integrating different valve types, such as refrigerant-based propellant thrusters and nitrous oxide-alcohol systems.
Micro-A has expertise in propellant design and testing, with thrust stand systems capable of measuring thrust from milli-Newtons to Newtons, as well as temperature, pressure, and flow rates. They have designed a gel-propellant system for microspacecraft to boost from Low-Earth Orbit to higher orbits, offering lower mass and volume with performance comparable to solid motors (Isp ~290 seconds). This gel-propellant system is safer, not susceptible to electrostatic discharge or leakage, and more efficient than hybrid propulsion modules. They also offer bi-propellant propulsion systems, including a hydrogen peroxide-kerosene engine that can operate at 150 pounds of thrust in bi-prop mode (autoigniting kerosene using hydrogen peroxide decomposition heat) or in monoprop mode as a simple hydrogen peroxide thruster.
A key innovation is their catalyst design for monopropellant thrusters. Unlike traditional pellet beds that degrade over time, Micro-A uses an innovative metal gauze catalyst design for hydrogen peroxide thrusters, offering increased system performance and lifetime. This design has demonstrated operation for over 500,000 pulses with proper propellant decomposition. Additionally, Micro-A consults on electric propulsion system development and analysis, defining requirements to advance technology readiness levels and partnering with electric propulsion companies for small satellite applications.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.