On the surface, a steam satellite sounds like something straight out of steampunk, the retro-futuristic touch of sci-fi that adds a healthy dose of 19th-century steam engines to the usual sci-fi traps.
In fact, that's the serious suggestion of Howe Industries, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based company that develops space power systems and has previously received grants from NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA ). Its ThermaSat engine, which boils distilled water into superheated steam via a thermal condenser, could have a big impact on the CubeSats (a type of miniaturized satellite used for space research) of the future.
Troy Howe, founder and president of Howe Industries, described it as a "simple and safe propulsion system". This could be particularly revolutionary for CubeSats because, unlike large satellites, CubeSats do not have the space to carry thrusters or huge amounts of thruster on board, which could prove useful for this alternative propulsion system. . The proposed ThermaSat, weighing just 5.4 lbs, would carry only a small amount of water, but expelling it as vapor would be enough to give it the means to maneuver when needed - whether to avoid collisions. , deorbiting or flying in formation. with other CubeSats.
"Using water for propulsion isn't necessarily a new idea, but the way we use it with such high performance and low power requirements is," Howe told Digital Trends. "Our concept uses an optical system that reflects the infrared portion of sunlight but absorbs visible and ultraviolet wavelengths. We collect this heat from the sun in the form of molten salts so that we can heat the propellant later. As [the] The absorber heats up, it tries to dissipate the heat, but the same optical system that prevented infrared sunlight from passing through also stops this radiated light. [It] eventually becomes extremely hot, allowing efficient operation with superheated steam. The end result is a propulsion system with no pressure tanks, no combustible fuel and no troublesome large solar panels.
So far, Howe said the team has done theoretical modeling to show the systems are working. This helped him create a "pretty solid final design". The team now hopes to continue development until the next phase of the project: testing the system.
"So far, it looks like everything should work out as expected, and we've even worked a bit on the sidelines, just in case," he said. "We also presented proposals for alternative designs for high performance ThermaSat systems, smaller systems and very low altitude systems. So it looks like there are all kinds of uses for this technology - and hopefully we can provide some good solutions for those who need more space propulsion.
Between steam and wooden satellites, the future of satellites is certainly a little different from what we imagined.
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