= Accion Electrospray Thrusters =

Uses 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate EMI-BF4 room temperature [[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionic_liquid | ionic liquid ]]

 .[[attachment:MAX-1_FlySheet_02.pdf]]
 .[[attachment:TILE_FlySheet_v2.pdf]]
 .[[attachment:jpcrd721.pdf | ionic liquids ]] ... not much on EMI-BF4 - what are the melting and boiling points?  

Only the TILE device appears on the [[ http://accion-systems.com | October 2016 Accion Systems website]], less information than the older fly sheets.  The temperature ranges were specified as -10C to 80C operating, -40C to 100C storage, so that sets the boundaries on orbital day/night cubesat temperature cycling.  A cubesat may need thermal mass and thermal shielding for the thruster to survive.

I bet the electronics packages could be greatly minimized.  Their online video shows a pulsed spark operation, perhaps that could be achieved with a very small piezo voltage source timed to another piezo that sprays the ionic liquid.

In high volumes, a "printed thruster" approach might work well with large scale roll-to-roll processing.  These must still be inserted with pick-and-place equipment, and laser bonded to a satellite substrate, probably with half-a-dozen other components (ASIC, HV transistors, caps, piezos).  In high volume production, a thruster should be cheaper than an ink jet cartridge.



 .[[attachment:xi1i0x3l.pdf | Iodine thruster  ]] [[ attachment:20140012578.pdf | for comparison ]] These are Hall effect devices, and require a significant magnetic field and a heated cathode, so they do not scale small.  6U to 24U small satellites.  

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