Chapter 15: Propulsion System

During mission design, many trades are made that have varying levels of impact on the spacecraft. The types of subsystems that are selected affect the spacecraft mass,volume, power, and cost. Choosing the right propulsion system for a CubeSat mission is key to that mission’s success. There are many CubeSat propulsion systems on the market today. The CubeSat community desires to understand how to assess the available propulsion systems and how to apply them to their mission designs. The purpose of this chapter is to inform the reader of the key factors that must be considered when evaluating and applying these systems for various missions.