FireStar Foundation Drive
Miles Space / RocketStar
Water-fueled pulsed plasma electric thruster in a 1U form factor for smallsat orbit raising, phasing, de-orbit and attitude control.
Technical specifications
- Propellant
- H2O (filled as liquid; liquid or solid during storage/use)
- Envelope
- 95 x 95 x 95 mm (1U with 5mm margin)
- Wet Mass
- 980 grams
- Propellant Load
- 250 grams of liquid, pure water
- System Power
- 6 Watts (typical, all thrusters active)
- Max System Power
- 18 Watts (maximum, all thrusters active)
- Thermal Draw
- 11.5 Watts (heater on, no thrusters active)
- Temperature Range
- -25C to +49C (valves heated to 4C)
- Survival Temperature
- -40C to 49C
- Input Voltage
- 5V logic, 12V thrust
- Thrust
- 17.2 mN (all thrusters active)
- ISP
- 7,300 sec
- Total Impulse
- 17,800 Ns
- Delta V
- 4,620 m/s for 4kg 3U; 2,273 m/s for 8kg 6U
- Thrust/Power
- 2.9 mN/Watt
- Thrust/Mass
- 17.6 mN/kg
- Lifetime
- >= 4x propellant load (based on ongoing experiments)
About
The FireStar Foundation Drive is RocketStar’s (formerly Miles Space) baseline electric propulsion unit, using a pulsed electrostatic cycle to accelerate ionized water vapor and generate thrust. It is packaged in the M1.4/M1.5 form factor with a 1U envelope designed for integration into 3U-and-larger spacecraft. The thruster uses safe, inexpensive, storable water as propellant, split between a plasma formation region with spark electrodes and dual exhaust ports ringed by acceleration electrodes powered by a single supply. It is intended for orbit raising, orbit phasing, de-orbit, drag makeup, reaction-wheel desaturation and attitude control. The thruster has demonstrated operation with multiple propellant gases including water vapor, xenon, argon, krypton, iodine and air, and is ready for delivery, with units manifested to fly on D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier via SpaceX Transporter rideshare missions in 2024.
Documentation
Need the full ICD, test reports or a specific revision? Ask the supplier directly.
