A low-thrust thruster is a small liquid fuel rocket engine with a thrust of 1 N to 20 N used for
attitude control and orbit control of artificial satellites. In recent years, as the life of artificial
satellites has been extended, the improvement of their propellant consumption and operability is
strongly required. We are developing a 10 N bi-propellant thruster for next-generation commercial
satellites while improving thruster performance by applying silicon nitride ceramics with high heat
resistance to the combustion chamber, and have obtained the prospect of achieving high
performance that exceeds conventional thrusters through firing tests of actual thrusters. This paper
reports the summary of the low-thrust thruster that is under development and the test results, and
presents the future development plan.
