Space: An iodine-burning engine was tested on a satellite for the first time in the world

A promotion system in space which uses iodine instead of xenon successfully tested for the first time in the world researchers from France.

It is the first time that iodine is confirmed to be one sustainable alternative in relation to the hitherto widely used xenon, which is more expensive and more difficult to store. The achievement, that marked as “historical”, may lead to new, more efficient, electric iodine-based spacecraft propulsion systems as an alternative “fuel”.

The researchers, led by him Dmitry Rafalski of the French company ThrustMe, who made the relevant publication in the journal “Nature”, announced that they had successfully carried out a test with a small CubeSat satellite weighing 20 kg in orbit, which was equipped with an iodine-based propulsion system, which allowed it to make various maneuvers in space.

Space: Why look for an alternative to the noble xenon gas

Propulsion is an important subsystem that many satellites need to perform maneuvers in space, such as avoiding collisions or “derailing” them at the end of their lives. Electric propulsion uses electricity to generate impulse from a propellant, according to the RES-EIA. Electric propulsion systems, such as ion motors, are attractive choice due to their high efficiency in terms of fuel consumption. Such systems typically use a propellant that maximizes their efficiency. This so far is almost exclusively the noble xenon gas and to a much lesser extent krypton.

Nevertheless xenon is rare (less than one part per 10 million in the atmosphere), is expensive (costs about $ 3,000 per kilo), requires high-pressure storage, and its commercial production for space is limited, as xenon is needed in other applications (medicine , lighting, semiconductors, etc.).

Thus, the space industry is looking for an alternative, which is cheaper, more abundant and can be stored without pressure in solid form instead of gases. Iodine is now being touted as a possible alternative, as, in addition to its other benefits, it provides higher efficiencies than xenon, as tests have shown.

Demand for propulsion fuel from space industry will exceed supply in coming years

It is estimated that more than 24,000 satellites will be launched over the next decade and most will need electrical propulsion systems. It is assumed that the demand for propellant fuels from the space industry will exceed supply in the coming years, so it is considered vital to find a suitable fuel for mass use. Iodine has been studied by universities, companies and space agencies for at least 20 years, but so far no iodine propulsion system has been tested in space.

Researchers estimate that iodine must be introduced more widely in the space industry and be utilized in a wide range of space missions. Among other things, it allows for a significant reduction in size and simplification of propulsion systems, which is especially useful for satellites.

“ThrustMe has developed a revolutionary propulsion system with an ion and iodine engine, the NPT30-I2, which includes all the necessary subsystems,” said Rafalski, chief technology officer and co-founder of the company, which was founded in 2017 near Paris. and fits in a space of about 10 cubic centimeters». Its comparison with the xenon shows that iodine gives one increase efficiency by almost 50%, in terms of propulsion / fuel ratio.

This original system was integrated into the satellite Beihangkongshi-1 of Spacety, which was launched into space with the Chinese Long March 6 rocket a year ago. Since then ThrustMe has carefully analyzed the operation of the iodine propulsion system, confirming its great effectiveness.

Here you will see the relevant scientific publication.