Monofilament Vaporization Propulsion (MVP)
CU Aerospace
The Monofilament Vaporization Propulsion (MVP) system uses 3D printer technology to provide continuous electrothermal thrust with Delrin fiber propellant.
Typed specifications104 values
Discloses 9 of 10 fields engineers filter by in this category (category median 3).
- Propulsion family
- electric electrothermal micro-resistojet · datasheet p.1
- Mass
- 622 g dry · datasheet p.6 1.06 kg total propulsion wet mass, flight (DUPLEX) | 1.14 kg total propulsion wet mass, flight-like | 622 g dry | 1.06 kg wet
- Thrust
- 4.5 mN nom. · primary thrust, flight-like and flight · datasheet p.16 4.5 mN design thrust
- Envelope (L×W×H)
- 10.0 x 10.0 x 11.57 cm3 datasheet p.16 9.0 x 9.0 x 11.43 cm flight (DUPLEX), as printed in cm | 10.0 x 10.0 x 11.57 cm flight-like, as printed in cm | 9.0 x 9.0 x 11.43 cm3
- Specific impulse
- 66 s flight-like and flight · datasheet p.16
- Total impulse
- 265 N·s product page 280 N·s flight (DUPLEX) | 280 N·s flight MVP system | 334 N·s flight-like | 330 N·s flight-like system
- Propellant
- PTFE (Teflon) datasheet p.1 other polymer filament (POM / Delrin), vaporised | other POM (Delrin), gaseous MW = 30 | other Delrin (POM) filament | other polyoxymethylene (POM) filament
- Supply voltage
- 6 V min · datasheet p.7 6–8.4 V unregulated bus voltages in power-mode tables (lower limit 6 V)
- Power consumption
- 3 W average cartridge-heater power to hold melt tube at 200-220 C… · datasheet p.8 13.5 W average power draw | 3.2 W average pre-heater, bus voltage 6.0V, average current 1.11A | 2.2 W average pre-heater, bus voltage 7.2V, average current 0.60A | 3.4 W average pre-heater, bus voltage 7.2V, average current 0.95A +24
- Data interface
- RS-422 flight-like · datasheet p.14 UART TTL, flight unit (DUPLEX) | I2C flight-like
- Operating temperature
- -20–60 °C TVAC testing · datasheet p.10
- TRL
- 6 datasheet p.1
- Thruster technology
- warm gas or resistojet micro-resistojet · datasheet p.1
- Volume
- 0.93 U flight (DUPLEX) · datasheet p.1 1.1 U flight-like | 0.93 U | 0.93 U
- Propellant mass flow
- 7 mg/s nom. · flight-like and flight · datasheet p.16
- Operating life
- 17.2 h total thrust time, flight (DUPLEX) · datasheet p.16 20.5 h total thrust time, flight-like
- Propellant mass (full load)
- 433 g flight (DUPLEX) · datasheet p.16 516 g flight-like | 433 g
- Power at thrust
- 45 W peak · datasheet p.1 39 W power to MVP system when firing, flight (DUPLEX) | 45 W power to MVP system when firing, flight-like | 30 W to superheater | 40 W to superheater PPU +3
- Time to thrust
- 180 s preheat before firing, flight unit (~3 minutes) · datasheet p.14 240 s warm-up time to 200°C with full propellant | 120 s warm-up time to 200°C with unloaded MVP | 240 s warm-up to 200 C melt tube, full propellant load, flight-like
- Max continuous burn
- 180 s 30% duty cycle, 3 min on / 7 min off · datasheet p.16 300 s longest continuous firing tested, 6 mg/s
- Survival temperature
- -20–70 °C survived · datasheet p.16
- Random vibration
- 14.1 g RMS qualification level, GFSC-STD-7000 · datasheet p.9
- Satellite class
- CubeSat datasheet p.1
- Delta-v
- 75 m/s M(initial) = 4 kg, flight (DUPLEX) · datasheet p.16 89 m/s M(initial) = 4 kg, flight-like | 89 m/s M(initial)=4 kg | 75 m/s M(initial)=4 kg
- Reference spacecraft mass for delta-v
- 4 kg datasheet p.16
- Dry mass
- 622 g flight-like and flight · datasheet p.16
- Ignition or start
- electric heater resistively heated superheater tube and melt pre-heater · datasheet p.3
- PPU output power
- 20 W superheater PPU, bus voltage 6.0V, superheater current 4.50A · datasheet p.7 20 W superheater PPU, bus voltage 7.2V, superheater current 3.62A | 25 W superheater PPU, bus voltage 7.2V, superheater current 4.55A | 30 W superheater PPU, bus voltage 7.2V, superheater current 5.6A | 20 W superheater PPU, bus voltage 8.4V, superheater current 3.02A +3
- PPU efficiency
- 0.85 % superheater PPU efficiency, flight (as printed 0.85) · datasheet p.16 0.74 % superheater PPU efficiency, flight-like (as printed 0.74)
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 supplier3 lines, in the manufacturer's own wording
- Specific Impulse
- 66 s
- Volume
- 0.93-liter
- Total Impulse
- 265 N-s
About
The MVP system utilizes extrusion 3D printer technology to feed and melt Delrin fiber propellant. A low-power resistojet vaporizes the Delrin, generating continuous electrothermal thrust with a specific impulse of 66 s. The Delrin fiber is spooled in a cylindrical configuration, surrounding a core containing all electronics.
Documentation
Need the full ICD, test reports or a specific revision? Ask the supplier directly.