IMPROVED FLOW REGULATING SYSTEM FOR SUPPLYING PROPELLANT FLUID TO AN ELECTRIC THRUSTER OF A SPACE VEHICLE

摘要

A system for regulating the flow of a propellant fluid for an electric thruster of a space vehicle, comprising a propellant fluid reservoir and a flow regulator mounted at the outlet of said reservoir, the flow regulator comprising a heating element controlled by a computer and designed to heat the propellant fluid and modify the physical properties thereof in order to vary the flow of propellant fluid exiting the reservoir, said system being characterised in that the computer further comprises a plurality of empirically determined empirical calibration curves defining the flow of propellant fluid depending on the intensity of heating and environmental parameters, such that said computer also performs a function of determining the flow of propellant fluid.