the Engineers from the Netherlands suggested the use of ice as a fuel for ultra-small satellites. According to the researchers, the current technology is exhausted and does not allow to achieve the long time operation of nanosatellites: time managed their stay in orbit is seriously limited. As a platform for such satellites used CubeSat format: such devices have a volume of 1 liter and a lot to 1.33 kg.

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Engineers from the Netherlands suggested the use of ice as a fuel for ultra-small satellites. According to the researchers, the current technology is exhausted and does not allow to achieve the long time operation of nanosatellites: time managed their stay in orbit is seriously limited. As a platform for such satellites used CubeSat format: such devices have a volume of 1 liter and a lot to 1.33 kg.

Such satellites are relatively cheap to launch into orbit, making them popular among enthusiasts and University projects with a limited budget. According to Angelo cervone at Delft technical University, CubeSat can carry on Board 100 g of water ice. In space is the sublimation of ice (its transition from the solid phase of water vapour without passing through a liquid phase) with the release of the vapour molecules that collide with the heated plate. As a result you get a craving, which should result in the movement of the satellite.

the Engineers have yet to solve the problem of fuel storage to send the satellite into space - flight training may take several days, during which the ice must remain in original condition and not melt. Freezing water in orbit is also considered, but this requires changes in the design, says The New Scientist. A prototype of a satellite, "ice-powered" should appear within a few years.