#24 - Pulsed Plasma Thrusters, with Adi Khuller, Omar Alavi & Joe Mayer

The Art of Space Engineering by Sarah Rogers

Episode notes

This episode includes a conversation with Adi Khuller, Joe Mayer, and Omar Alavi on the design and implementation of Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTs) and how these can be integrated into CubeSats, specifically. Adi, Omar, and Joe were the core of a group of people who designed and prototyped a state-of-the-art PPT system for CubeSats during their undergrad at ASU. Their PPT was developed entirely by student-driven efforts and limited student organization funding.

In this conversation we’ll talk about how PPTs work, how they’re designed for CubeSats, and the challenges that come with designing and testing a system like this - particularly in a university setting. In addition, we will also go into how the design changed over time, their collaboration with JPL on the project, and glorious war stories from their experience.

AIAA Pap ... 

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