An Engineering Model (EM) 1U CubeSat propulsion system utilizing the non-toxic, "green" monopropellant AF-M315E was developed. This technology demonstrator program, also known as Advanced Monopropellant Application for CubeSats (AMAC), produced a self-contained, 1.5kg-wet system that is expected to provide 0.1-O.SN variable thrust and up to 565N-sec total impulse. This propulsive capability translates to a maximum of 146m/s delta-V for a 3U/4kg CubeSat The system's only input requirements are 20W of power at the spacecraft bus voltage and an RS-422 port for communication. In addition to Busek's O.SN micro thruster BGT-X5, the cornerstone of the AMAC technology, other notable subsystem components include 1) an ultra-low power piezoelectric microvalve, 2) a material-compatible bellows tank for propellant storage and feed, and 3) a patent-pending Post-Launch Pressurization System (PLPS) that can generate inert pressurant gas in space and re-pressurize the tank on demand. To date, AMAC's mechanical components have been integrated and successfully hot-fire tested on a systems level. The results obtained from this hot-fire demonstration are the focus of this publication. With significant system hardware and CONOPS risks retired, the AMAC program is now progressing toward flight electronics development, with the goal of producing a fully-integrated protoflight unit in early 2018.
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