Reliable control of large spacecraft

10 N Bi-Propellant Thruster

All the space you need

10 N Thrusters in SpaceMore than 90 spacecraft are equipped with

EADS-ST’s 10 N thrusters. Most of them with either

12 or 14 units.

Symphonie 1 1974

Symphonie 2 1975

TV-Sat 1 1987

TDF-1 1988

Galileo 1989

Tele X 1989

DFS Kopernikus 1 1989

TV-Sat 2 1989

DFS Kopernikus 2 1990

TDF-2 1990

Eutelsat 2-F1 1990

Inmarsat IIF 1990

Telecom 2 A 1990

Eutelsat 2-F2 1991

Eutelsat 2-F3 1991

Arabsat 1C 1992

Telecom 2B 1992

Eutelsat 2-F4 1992

Hispasat 1A 1992

DFS Kopernikus 3 1992

Hispasat 1B 1993

Eutelsat 2-F5 1994

Türksat 1A 1994

Türksat 1AR 1994

Türksat 1B 1994

Telstar 11 1994

HotBird 1 1995

Telecom 2 C 1995

Amos 1 1996

Arabsat 2A 1996

Türksat 1C 1996

Telecom 2 D 1996

Arabsat 2B 1996

Hot Bird 2 1996

Nahuel 1A 1997

Thaicom 3 1997

Hot Bird 3 1997

Sirius 2 FM1 1997

Hot Bird 4 1998

Nilesat 101 1998

Sinosat 1998

Sing Tel 1 1998

Eutelsat W2 1998

Hot Bird 5 1998

Afristar 1998

GE 5 1998

Arabsat 3A 1999

Eutelsat W3 1999

Hispasat 1C 2000

Asiastar 2000

Eutelsat W4 2000

Cluster FM 6, FM 7 2000

Cluster FM 5, FM 8 2000

Nilesat 102 2000

Astra 2B 2000

Eurasiasat 2001

Sicral 2001

Eurobird 2001

Artemis 2001

Atlantic Bird 2 2001

Atlantic Bird 3 2002

Atlantic Bird 1 2002

HotBird 6 2002

Meteosat SG 1 2002

Hispasat 1D 2002

Eutelsat W5 2002

Mars Express 2003

AMC 9 2003

Amos 2 2003

Rosetta 2004

Eutelsat W3A 2004

Intelsat 10-02 2004

Amazonas 1 2004

Worldsat 2 2005

Apstar 6 2005

Inmarsat 4-F1 2005

Inmarsat 4-F2 2005

Meteosat SG 2 2005

Rascom 1 2005

Sicral B 2005

Syracuse 3A 2005

Venus Express 2005

Worldsat 3 2005

Galaxy 17 2006

Inmarsat 4-F3 2006

Star One C1 2006

Syracuse 3B 2006

Chinasat 9 2007

Hot Bird 7A 2007

Koreasat 5 2007

Star One C2 2007

Syracuse 3C 2007

MSG 3 2009

MSG 4 2012

Satellite Launch Satellite Launch Satellite Launch

Heritage

The thrusters are equipped with propellant valves

from either MOOG, USA, or from EADS Space

Transportation, France and Germany, depending on

customer's request. The thruster is an All European

Product when equipped with the EADS Space

Transportation valve.

The 10 N thruster is a small rocket engine for attitude,

trajectory and orbit control of large satellites and

deep space probes.

It can look back on more than 35 years use in space.

Over thousend units have controlled numerous inter-

national scientific and commercial spacecraft to date.

The thruster has experienced multiple improvements

in the course of its 35 years life and the innovation for

further performance improvement and simultaneous

cost reduction still continues.

Design Description

Three types of propellant flow control valves may be

applied:

• Thruster S10-13 with single seat, mono-stable,

torque motor valve (supplier MOOG, USA)

• Thruster S10-18 with dual seat valve, consisting of

an upstream latch valve and a downstream

mono-stable valve (supplier MOOG, USA)

• Thruster S10-23 with dual seat valve, consisting of

an upstream latch valve and a downstream

mono-stable valve (supplier EADS Space

Transportation, Germany)

The thruster performance is identical for all valves.

The 10 N bi-propellant thruster uses the storable

propellants N2O4, MON-1 or MON-3 as oxidizer,

and MMH as fuel. It is designed for both, long term

steady state and pulse mode operation. It operates

in a wide pressure range at regulated pressure as

well as in system blow down mode.

Combustion chamber and nozzle are made of a

Platinum alloy that requires no surface coating.

It allows operational temperatures up to 1,500° C

(2,700° F) and thus maximum thruster performance.

The uncoated surface is absolutely resistant against

oxidization and thus invulnerable to mishandling,

to application of test sensors, to millions of pulse

cycles.

Trimming orifices between valve and injector

provide for individual adjustment of the propellant

flow, according to the designed system pressure.

The application of heaters and thermistors for ther-

mal control is provided on request.

Thruster Model S 10-13Valve, Single Seat, MOOG

Thruster Model S 10-18Valve, Dual Seat, MOOG

Thruster Model S 10-23Valve, Dual Seat, EADS Space Transportation

Launch Vibration Loads

These loads represent both, launcher loads and

amplification by the spacecraft. The loads are

applied at the thruster mounting flange.

Random – Lateral

Random and Sinusodial VibrationThe thrusters are qualified to withstand sinus and

random vibration at the shown levels.

Random – Sinusodial

Random – Axial

Characteristics

Thrust, Nominal 10 N 2.2 lb

Thrust Range 6.0 … 12.5 N 1.4 … 2.8 lb

Specific Impulse at Nominal Point 291 s

Flow Rate, Nominal 3.50 g/s

Flow Rate, Range 2.30 … 4.20 g/s

Mixture Ratio, Nominal 1.65

Mixture Ratio, Range 1.20 … 2.10

Chamber Pressure, Nominal 9 bar 130 psi

Inlet Pressure Range 10 … 23 bar 145 … 335 psi

Throat Diameter (inner) 2.85 mm 0.11 inch

Nozzle End Diameter (inner) 35 mm 1.38 inch

Nozzle Expansion Ratio (by area) 150

Mass, Thruster with single Seat Valve 350 g 0,8 lb

Mass, Thruster with dual Seat Valve 650 g 1,5 lb

Chamber-Nozzle Material Platinum/Rhodium

Injector Type Double Cone Vortex

Cooling Concept Film & Radiative

Propellants, Fuel MMH

Oxidizer N2O4, MON-1, MON-3

Valve, Single Seat Bi-propellant torque motor valve, mono-stable, 50 Volts, MOOG 51-131

Valve, Dual Seat a) Two in one bi-propellant torque motor valves, 50 Volts, MOOG 51-215

b) Two in one bi-propellant dual coil actuator valves, 40 to 50 Volts,

EADS Space Transportation

Valve Supplier MOOG, East Aurora, USA (Valve for thrusters S10-13 and S10-18)

EADS Space Transportation, Germany (Valve for thruster S10-23)

Mounting I/F to S/C Valve flange with 3 through-holes of 6.4 mm (1/4’’) diameter

Tubing I/F per SAE AS4395E02 or welded

Valve Lead Wires 24 AWG per MIL-W-81381

Thruster heater and Thermal Sensor On request

Qualified single burn life 15 hours

Qualified accumulated burn life 70 hours

Qualified cycle life 1,000,000 cycles

Characteristics Metric Dimensions Imperial / US Dimensions

Pulse Operation

Pulse Mode Performance, Impulse BitThe single impulse bits are nearly independent on

Valve Off times. This is a consequence of the

thruster’s low dribble volumes and of the totally

optimized thruster design.

Pulse Mode Performance,Impulse Bit RepeatabilityImpulse bit repeatability is of major importance for

an efficient use of the thruster. Even under worst

case conditions, namely minimum Valve On and

maximum Valve Off times, the thruster shows

excellent performance repeatability.

Duty Cycle QualificationThe thruster qualification program includes extensi-

ve pulse mode testing at numerous combinations

of Valve On and Valve Off times, ranging from

milliseconds to seconds.

Pulse Mode Performance, Specific ImpulseFull thruster efficiency is achieved for pulse

durations over 500 milliseconds. The efficiency is

naturally lower as shorter the pulse, since start up

and shut off time of the combustion are approaching

the total pulse duration.

Steady State Operation

Thruster Operation RangeThe thruster operates reliably within a propellant

pressure range from 10 to 22 bar at the valve inlets.

The boundaries are given by stability and

temperature limits.

Each thruster is individually adapted to the propell-

lant feed system of its spacecraft. The actual thruster

operation point during a mission may shift within the

qualified range, depending on the actually occurring

tank pressures. The thruster may be operated at

both, regulated and blow down pressure mode.

Steady State Performance 600 ThrustersThe average specific impulse of 600 tested thrusters

is 291 sec. The maximum deviation of individual

thrusters to this average is 2 %. A minimum Isp of

287 sec is contractually guaranteed.

Steady State Performance Specific ImpulseThe specific impulse (Isp) is the measure for the

thruster-efficiency. The higher the Isp, the better the

thruster. Generally, the Isp of a thruster depends on

various operational parameters, it is never constant

for the entire operation range. The nominal Isp of

291 sec refers to the nominal thrust level of 10 N.

The thruster achieves an Isp up to 298 sec when

operated at maximum thrust.

Structure Interface

Thruster S 10-13MOOG Valve, SingleSeat

Dimensions

Structure Cut out

Thruster S 10-23EADS Space Transportation Valve, DualSeat

Dimensions

Structure Cut out

Thruster S 10-18MOOG Valve, Dual Seat

Dimensions

Structure Cut out

Structure Interface

Thruster S 10-13MOOG Valve, SingleSeat

Dimensions

Structure Cut out

EADS Space TransportationPropulsion & EquipmentD 81663 Munich, GermanyPhone: +49-89-607 22148Fax: +49-89-607 85148Henning.vonBassewitz@space.eads.net

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