Sarah Fry

Sarah Fry is a graduate student in aeronautics and astronautics whose work optimizes charge-to-mass ratios for microbubble electrostatic space propulsion. Current electric propulsion technologies struggle to access the specific impulse regime of 500–1000 seconds at high efficiencies, limiting deep space science missions requiring both efficient long-duration travel and rapid maneuverability. She investigates whether capacitively charged microbubbles can serve as emission particles, testing the hypotheses that their dual liquid interfaces increase Rayleigh charging limits relative to droplets and that their low-mass hollow structure increases attainable specific charge. Using MATLAB, she conducts trade studies relating bubble parameters to propulsive performance, develops numerical models of capacitive charging, and calculates Hagen-Poiseuille flows for pressurized liquid deposition in experiments. As a MathWorks Fellow, Sarah will expand her models to solve Laplace equations for electrode geometries and develop reduced-order analytical models and nondimensional parameter maps across bubble formation, charging, and acceleration stages to determine the effects of emitter design and bubble characteristics on propulsive performance. Sarah’s research aims to advance thruster technologies with novel specific impulse–thrust-to-power balance, enabling a broader range of future space missions.