CubeSats usually carry no propulsion system because of difficulties in scaling down existing propulsion technologies to meet the stringent size, volume, and power limits. The most challenging case in this context is the one-unit CubeSat: the use of which has been rapidly growing. To increase CubeSat functionality by allowing small orbit corrections, particularly due to orbit injection errors, this paper develops a new propulsion method relying on an ejection of masses from a reaction wheel. Using the reaction wheel’s kinetic energy, propellant masses are released from the wheel’s outer circumference using an impulsive application of an electric current. This paper models the dynamics of the satellite, the modified reaction wheel, and the ejected masses; evaluates the pros and cons of the proposed method; and provides a methodology for constructing a model of a mass-ejecting reaction wheel designed according to given specifications of a desired velocity change and satellite attitude stability. The system is useful for small orbit corrections, which can be used (for example) for CubeSat formation establishment after orbital injection.

立方体卫星通常不携带推进系统，因为很难缩小现有的推进技术以满足严格的尺寸、体积和功率限制。在这方面最具挑战性的案例是单机立方体卫星：它的使用一直在迅速增长。为了通过允许小轨道修正（尤其是由于轨道注入误差）来增加 CubeSat 功能，本文开发了一种新的推进方法，该方法依赖于从反作用轮中喷射出的质量。使用反作用轮的动能，通过脉冲施加电流从轮的外圆周释放推进剂质量。本文对卫星的动力学、改进的反作用轮和抛射质量进行建模；评估所提出方法的优缺点；并且提供了一种用于构建根据期望速度变化和卫星姿态稳定性的给定规范设计的抛质反作用轮模型的方法。该系统可用于小轨道修正，可用于（例如）轨道注入后的立方体卫星编队建立。