Oman team models water propulsion for CubeSat recovery

(SpaceEnergy) Sultan Qaboos University researchers have modelled a water-based micro-propulsion system intended to help CubeSats recover from partial power failures or loss of control.

The proposed system would provide low thrust for trajectory correction and safe recovery while retaining the simplicity, low cost and environmental compatibility of water propulsion.

Researchers developed a system-level analytical model and numerical simulations to evaluate performance under emergency operating conditions. The simulations indicated that low-thrust propulsion could materially improve spacecraft safety during such failures.

The work was presented at the Small Satellite Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, and became publicly available through the conference repository on 22 August.