Space Propulsion Laboratory

Dan Getty

Dan Getty

31-219M

dgetty ‘at’ mit.edu

Degrees Pursued: Masters

Research Interests: Low-thrust mission analysis, interplanetary CubeSat missions, rendezvous, spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control

Research Summary:

I’m currently testing several new high conductivity ionic liquids to be used as fuel in our electrospray thrusters. These ionic liquids allow for higher currents, and therefore higher thrust from our electrospray systems. These new fuels are being tested to determine their current vs. voltage response, as well as to gain information about the angular, energy, and mass distributions of the emitted beam. Using this data, we can calculate thrust, specific impulse, and total efficiency.