In commemoration of Prof. Dr. Darren Lee Hitt: Micro-Propulsion for Small Spacecraft — Current Trends, Innovations and Challenges

Dear colleagues,

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Prof. Dr. Darren Hitt on 10th May 2019. Darren was a kind, supportive member of the Editorial Board of this journal with a keen interest in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and aerospace engineering and science.

Darren had an outstanding impact on the teaching and research excellence of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Vermont, with a total number of 117 academic publications in Scopus that contributed to scientific and technological advancements in many areas, particularly in aerospace engineering.

Aerospace is honored to announce this Special Issue dedicated to the memory of Prof. Hitt, which represents an ideal continuation of the previous Topical Collection co-edited by him and by Dr. Angelo Cervone. (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/aerospace/special_issues/micro_propulsion)

Miniaturized spacecraft in the nano- and pico-satellite class, such as CubeSats or PocketQubes, are making access to space easier, faster, and cheaper. Today, this type of spacecraft are not used anymore just in academic projects, but they are also becoming more and more attractive for commercial applications and for missions of high scientific relevance, including interplanetary ones.

Given their extended range of applications and more ambitious design goals, the availability of adequate propulsive capabilities becomes fundamental for these platforms to totally realize their potential. However, the strict mass, volume, and power limitations typically imposed by small satellite requirements make it often impossible to simply scale down “conventional” propulsion systems: completely different, and sometimes unique, micro-technologies and concepts are needed to help to develop a compliant propulsion system.

This Special Issue intends to host contributions addressing innovations and challenges in the micro-propulsion field, at both system and component level (nozzle, thruster, valves, sensors, tank, power conditioning, propellants, fluidic lines, etc.). Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts describing analytical, numerical, design, test or integration activities on chemical, cold gas, electric or electrothermal propulsion, as well as advanced concepts.

Dr. Angelo Cervone
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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