Category: Blog
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What is a Monopropellant Thruster?
A monopropellant thruster is a thruster that uses a single chemical as its propellant. Monopropellants are propellants that consist of chemicals that release energy through exothermic chemical decomposition. This release of energy is usually accomplished with the help of a catalyst. A monopropellant does not require a separate oxidizer. Also Read: What is a Bipropellant…
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What are Lagrange Points?
Lagrange Points are positions in space where the gravitational forces of two celestial bodies produces an enhanced amount of attraction & repulsion. This causes a spacecraft or a satellite present at that point to remain in a fixed position without the need of control thrusters or orbital correction with minimal fuel consumption. L1 Lagrange Point…
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What are Space Debris?
Space debris or Space junk is the accumulation of discarded launch vehicles, decommissioned satellites, & parts of a spacecraft that floats around in space and causes a risk of collision with functioning satellites or space stations. Space debris is the result of launching objects from the earth. Some of these objects remain in the orbit,…
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What are the the Different Types of Launch Vehicles used in Space?
Launch vehicles or carrier rockets are classified mainly based on the weight of the payload which they carry. Small-lift launch Vehicles: A small-lift launch vehicle is an orbital launch vehicle that is capable of lifting 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) of payload into Low earth orbit (LEO). Examples of small lift launch vehicles are Sputnik &…
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What are Electrothermal Thrusters?
Electrothermal thrusters uses electric energy to heat the propellants either into a plasma or hot gas which is then expanded through a nozzle to produce thrust. Compared to both electromagnetic and electrostatic propulsion systems that propel charged ions through the use of electric and magnetic fields, electrothermal thruster relies upon thermal dynamics to propel the…
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What are Cryocoolers?
Cryocoolers are refrigerators that are designed to reach cryogenic temperatures (-130 ). They are designed in tabletop sizes and have an input power of less than 20 kW. A cryogenic refrigerator has four major components: Compressor Heat exchanger Expansion device Evaporator In the first stage, the gas gets compressed and goes to the heat exchanger.…
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What is a Geostationary Orbit?
An earth-centered orbit with an altitude of about 35,7867 Km above the surface of the earth is called a Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO). The geostationary orbit is located directly above the earth’s equator with zero eccentricity and inclination. A satellite in a geostationary orbit seems to be stationary when seen from the surface of the…
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What are Multistage Rockets?
Multistage rockets are spacecraft/satellite launch vehicles that consist of two or more rocket stages with each stage containing its engines and propellants which are detached post-launch one after the other till the payload reaches its intended orbit or destination. Multistage rockets are predominantly used as they are much more cost-effective when compared to single-stage rockets…
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What is a MicroSat?
Microsat is a type of artificial satellite weighing roughly around 10-100 Kg and is launched into space at an altitude of around 350 miles (550 Km) above the earth’s surface. Microsats can be built inexpensively and launched into the Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) which can be used for applications such as remote sensing and communications.…
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What do you mean by Graveyard Orbit?
A graveyard orbit is an orbit at an altitude of 36,050 Km above the earth’s surface (higher than most common operational orbits) where decommissioned satellites are moved to reduce the probability of them crashing into other functional satellites and generating space debris. Decommissioned satellites are those satellites that operate at high altitudes and cannot be…