New institute established to boost electric propulsion technologies
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Space exploration is continuously becoming more competitive across the world. Embracing that competition, the United States Space Force (USSF) recently awarded $34.9 million to nine universities, including Western Michigan University. The goal is to aid in the creation of the Space Power and Propulsion for Agility, Responsiveness and Resilience (SPAR) Institute, led by the University of Michigan, for developing novel power and propulsion technologies. This five-year collaboration also includes 14 industry partners and advisors.
"The institute will demonstrate prototypes for universal, modular systems enabled by an innovative, ultra-compact method for nuclear power generation and a novel technique for highly throttleable, multi-mode (electric and chemical) propulsion,” says Dr. Kristina Lemmer, WMU professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and a lead on the project.
Through the institute, various organizations will divide into subteams. Some subteams will explore three different styles of electric propulsion including the Hall thruster, the applied field magnetoplasmadynamic thruster and the electron cyclotron resonance thruster.
Each of these thrusters will rely on a module that turns a propellant into a gas, developed by Western’s Aerospace Laboratory for Plasma Experiments (ALPE) in collaboration with Champaign-Urbana Aerospace. The work and research done by WMU students will be an essential part of the development and work of this institute.
“ALPE at WMU has significant expertise in the analysis of novel propellants for electric propulsion,” says Lemmer, who also serves as director of ALPE. “This expertise will play a vital role in the institute.”
ALPE specializes in the investigation of plasma for space propulsion, enhanced combustion and environmental concerns. This participation in the project will also help ALPE meet one of its organizational goals: to identify future directions for plasma research and applications and lead the discovery process.
Dr. Nicholas Taylor, senior research associate at WMU’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, is also involved in the project. This research will provide impactful space power and propulsion technology to the U.S. Department of Defense.
In addition to Western and the University of Michigan, partner universities and organizations include Cornell University, University of Washington, University of Colorado Boulder, Princeton University, University of Wisconsin, Colorado State University, Pennsylvania State University, Ultrasafe Nuclear Corporation, Antora Energy, Spark Thermionics, Ultramet, Cislunar Industries, Champaign-Urbana Aerospace, Benchmark Space Systems, Advanced Cooling Technologies, NuWaves Inc. and Analytical Mechanics Associates. Read more about the project.
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