With the advent of smaller satellites, along with the need for less than 0.1 μN precision attitude control for interferometry and imaging missions, finer micro- to sub-micro- thrusters have become an area of high interest. As thrusters are developed and ground-tested, it is necessary to evaluate their thrust performance on-orbit. On-orbit measurements offer actual thrust performance in mission conditions, free from ground facility vibrations and miniaturization restraints, and allow a thruster system to achieve a NASA Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7-8. A review is conducted of existing and proposed ground and on-orbit thrust measurement techniques. Experimental gaps and complementary methods are examined along with the current thrust resolution limits. A novel fusion technique combining attitude determination, torsional balance, and filtering techniques is proposed to increase resolution beyond current on-orbit minimums, 4μN, via a dedicated sub-μN on-orbit thrust measurement mission. A simulated case study in the application of this measurement technique to a theoretical Casimir-thruster-equipped, 10-7-10-13 N, smallsat mission is explored. A detailed error analysis is conducted, and the technique is found to be analytically viable for greater than or equal to 10-7 N on a 1U nanosat equipped with sun sensor and three-axis gyroscope, as well as physically viable at a TRL 7-9 level. Recommended next steps are modification of the post-processing technique to decrease gyroscope noise and mass restrictions or exploration of suggested alternate methods, including orbit estimation, direct force sensing, and formation flying.
","abstract_html":"<p>With the advent of smaller satellites, along with the need for less than 0.1 μN precision attitude control for interferometry and imaging missions, finer micro- to sub-micro- thrusters have become an area of high interest. As thrusters are developed and ground-tested, it is necessary to evaluate their thrust performance on-orbit. On-orbit measurements offer actual thrust performance in mission conditions, free from ground facility vibrations and miniaturization restraints, and allow a thruster system to achieve a NASA Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7-8. A review is conducted of existing and proposed ground and on-orbit thrust measurement techniques. Experimental gaps and complementary methods are examined along with the current thrust resolution limits. A novel fusion technique combining attitude determination, torsional balance, and filtering techniques is proposed to increase resolution beyond current on-orbit minimums, 4μN, via a dedicated sub-μN on-orbit thrust measurement mission. A simulated case study in the application of this measurement technique to a theoretical Casimir-thruster-equipped, 10<sup>-7</sup>-10<sup>-13</sup> N, smallsat mission is explored. A detailed error analysis is conducted, and the technique is found to be analytically viable for greater than or equal to 10<sup>-7</sup> N on a 1U nanosat equipped with sun sensor and three-axis gyroscope, as well as physically viable at a TRL 7-9 level. Recommended next steps are modification of the post-processing technique to decrease gyroscope noise and mass restrictions or exploration of suggested alternate methods, including orbit estimation, direct force sensing, and formation flying.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hood, Jonathan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MS in Aerospace Engineering","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Aerospace Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Pauline Faure","Aerospace Engineering","College of Engineering"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:32:55Z","subjects":["Thrust Measurement","On-Orbit Measurement","Propulsion and Power"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["10.15368/theses.2022.56"],"render_values":[{"text":"10.15368/theses.2022.56","href":"https://doi.org/10.15368/theses.2022.56","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/2463","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Pauline Faure","Aerospace Engineering","College of Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hood, Jonathan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-06-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Aerospace Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MS in Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Thrust Measurement","On-Orbit Measurement","Propulsion and Power"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/2463","10.15368/theses.2022.56"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["With the advent of smaller satellites, along with the need for less than 0.1 μN precision attitude control for interferometry and imaging missions, finer micro- to sub-micro- thrusters have become an area of high interest. As thrusters are developed and ground-tested, it is necessary to evaluate their thrust performance on-orbit. On-orbit measurements offer actual thrust performance in mission conditions, free from ground facility vibrations and miniaturization restraints, and allow a thruster system to achieve a NASA Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7-8. A review is conducted of existing and proposed ground and on-orbit thrust measurement techniques. Experimental gaps and complementary methods are examined along with the current thrust resolution limits. A novel fusion technique combining attitude determination, torsional balance, and filtering techniques is proposed to increase resolution beyond current on-orbit minimums, 4μN, via a dedicated sub-μN on-orbit thrust measurement mission. A simulated case study in the application of this measurement technique to a theoretical Casimir-thruster-equipped, 10-7-10-13 N, smallsat mission is explored. A detailed error analysis is conducted, and the technique is found to be analytically viable for greater than or equal to 10-7 N on a 1U nanosat equipped with sun sensor and three-axis gyroscope, as well as physically viable at a TRL 7-9 level. Recommended next steps are modification of the post-processing technique to decrease gyroscope noise and mass restrictions or exploration of suggested alternate methods, including orbit estimation, direct force sensing, and formation flying.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Method and Simulation of On-Orbit Sub-microthrust Evaluation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Pauline Faure","Aerospace Engineering","College of Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Hood, Jonathan"],"dc:date.available":["2022-06-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["With the advent of smaller satellites, along with the need for less than 0.1 μN precision attitude control for interferometry and imaging missions, finer micro- to sub-micro- thrusters have become an area of high interest. As thrusters are developed and ground-tested, it is necessary to evaluate their thrust performance on-orbit. On-orbit measurements offer actual thrust performance in mission conditions, free from ground facility vibrations and miniaturization restraints, and allow a thruster system to achieve a NASA Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7-8. A review is conducted of existing and proposed ground and on-orbit thrust measurement techniques. Experimental gaps and complementary methods are examined along with the current thrust resolution limits. A novel fusion technique combining attitude determination, torsional balance, and filtering techniques is proposed to increase resolution beyond current on-orbit minimums, 4μN, via a dedicated sub-μN on-orbit thrust measurement mission. A simulated case study in the application of this measurement technique to a theoretical Casimir-thruster-equipped, 10-7-10-13 N, smallsat mission is explored. A detailed error analysis is conducted, and the technique is found to be analytically viable for greater than or equal to 10-7 N on a 1U nanosat equipped with sun sensor and three-axis gyroscope, as well as physically viable at a TRL 7-9 level. Recommended next steps are modification of the post-processing technique to decrease gyroscope noise and mass restrictions or exploration of suggested alternate methods, including orbit estimation, direct force sensing, and formation flying.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/2463","10.15368/theses.2022.56"],"dc:subject":["Thrust Measurement","On-Orbit Measurement","Propulsion and Power"],"dc:title":["Method and Simulation of On-Orbit Sub-microthrust Evaluation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Aerospace Engineering"],"thesis:degree_name":["MS in Aerospace Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:32:55Z"}