Payload
Payload is responsible for the mission aspect of our satellite—specifically, the thruster. Payload does all ground testing of these components and provides plans for how to perform the mission to cover success criteria.
Responsibilities:
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Ground testing of thruster
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Developing and testing high voltage electronics for thruster
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Skills used in Payload:
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Working Knowledge of EP thrusters and vacuum chambers
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Physics behind plasmas
Grace Klang
Payload Team Lead
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pld
What We are currently working on
The payload team is currently working on the development of a Power Processing Unit (PPU) to provide kilovolt-level voltages to an electrospray thruster. In cooperation with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Power Lab at WMU, a single-polarity configuration of an electrospray thruster. This thruster will be tested at MIT and the results will be compared to data collected on-orbit by the PEP-GS satellite.
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Additionally, the payload team is working on the development of a dual-function Langmuir probe to characterize local plasma densities and determine the absolute electric charge on the satellite frame. This Langmuir probe will be verified in collaboration with Penn State University in their atmospheric plasma vacuum chamber.
Thrust Stand
Vacuum Chamber