The UK's Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) has test-fired the first electric resistojet orbit control thruster to be used in space by a Western European country. It took place aboard the SSTL UoSAT 12 satellite.
A resistojet is a form of electric propulsion where a fluid, such as water or nitrous oxide, is super-heated over an electrically heated element. The resulting hot gas is expelled through a nozzle.
"It is like to an electric kettle and pressure cooker combined. It uses environmentally friendly fluids and is easy to control," says SSTL.
The 325kg (710lb) UoSAT 12 is SSTL's first mini-satellite spacecraft bus and was launched on a Russian Dnepr in April to validate bus and payload technologies.
Source: Flight International
