NEWS Malaysia

The one-hour lecture on “Electric Propulsion for Cube Satellite” was presented by Prof. Yueh-Heng Li (Professor at the Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, College of Engineering, NCKU and Chief Director of the Center for General Education, NCKU). The session was recorded and made available on the NCKU Overseas Hub in Malaysia’s Facebook page: https://fb.watch/k6YtuhJ4ru/. Among the attendees were researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), and Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA).

Prof. Li provided a comprehensive review of four types of Micro Plasma Thrusters (MPTs) for CubeSats: Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTs), Vacuum Arc Thrusters (VATs), ion engines, and Hall thrusters. Prof Li introduced the concept and design of these MPTs, including factors such as propellant type, ignition method, and discharge chamber configuration. The advantages and limitations of each type of MPT were presented, and their potential applications in CubeSats for various space missions such as atmospheric probing, relay communication, and deep space exploration were also highlighted.