MEPs and Sputnik: Plasma propulsion systems VERA (Volume-Effective Rocket-propulsion Assembly)

2022: Beginning of assembly of nanosatellites of CubeSat 3U with the plasma VERA engine

On January 21, 2022 the Sitronics company reported that the staff of laboratory of plasma engines of LaPlaz NIYAU MIFI Institute and the Sputnics company entering into Sitronics Group began assembly of a nanosatellite of the CubeSat 3U format with the pulse plasma VERA propulsion system (Volume-Effective Rocket-propulsion Assembly). More details here.

2021: Start of tests of the plasma propulsion system for small spacecraft

Employees of the plasma engine laboratory of the LaPlaz Institute, NIAU MEPhI, together with representatives of the Sputnix company (part of the Sitronics Group), began testing the first Russian plasma propulsion system suitable for placement on small spacecraft. Equipped with plasma engines, nanosatellites can independently maintain their position in orbit and at the end of their lives reduce the altitude of the orbit, reducing the time to combustion in the upper atmosphere by 2-3 times. This was announced on December 9, 2021 in Sitronics.

According to the company, the plasma propulsion system, called VERA (Volume-Effective Rocket-propulsion Assembly), will be the first in the country and one of the first in the world to be installed on spacecraft weighing no more than 4 kg of CubeSat 3U format. The small size and mass of the developed engines will allow you to create and maintain in orbit groups of dozens of nanosatellites.

Tests are carried out by a full-fledged propulsion system, which includes, in addition to the engine itself, compact high-voltage converters that provide power to the engine from the low-voltage on-board network, satellite as well as an electronic control board that receives digital commands and based on them monitors all processes within the plant.

"The developers of nanosatellite groupings face the problem of the lack of sufficiently compact propulsion systems that would allow satellites to occupy and then effectively maintain the necessary positions in the orbital plane for a long time. With the VERA engine, this problem will be solved, which will give a powerful impetus for the development of inexpensive satellite systems of a new generation, "said Igor Egorov, head of the laboratory of plasma and jet engines of the LaPlaz Institute of NIAU MEPhI.

For sending for Earth orbit by the Sputnics company two nanosatellites of the CubeSat 3U format using propulsion systems of this type are preparing. Satellites are being created and will be sent into space as part of the Space PI program supported by the Innovation Assistance Fund. The launch of satellites into space is expected in 2022, where the main flight tests of the engine will take place.

{{quote|"Despite the small size, nanosatellites can solve many problems that were previously solved only with the help of much larger and more expensive devices. Nanosatellites can engage in remote Earth sensing (DHS), including the rapid detection of natural disasters, collect data on the movement of ships and aircraft (AIS, ADS-B), maintain the so-called "Internet of Things" (IoT), providing communication with remote autonomous meteorological and oceanographic stations along the Northern Sea Route, "said the president of the Sitronics Group Nikolai Pozhidaev.

Another important problem that the plasma engine will help solve is the problem of space debris. Typically, nanosatellites can remain in orbit for more than a decade after the completion of their operation, before braking on the upper atmosphere clears near-Earth space from them. All this time, the threat remains that a nanosatellite that has already worked out its resource will collide with some operational, possibly manned, apparatus. But engine-equipped nanosatellites can at the end of their lives independently reduce the altitude of the orbit, thereby reducing the time to combustion in the upper atmosphere by 2-3 times.

"The main tasks of the space experiment with engines are to demonstrate the high technological level and reliability of the device, to work out the maneuvering of vehicles in orbit, to serve as an important element for future series of modern domestic nanosatellites and satellite groupings for various purposes capable of competing in the international market," said Vladislav Ivanenko, General Director of Sputnix.