Propellant tank with on-off control system for the flow of propellant gas and spacecraft incorporating such a control system

A thruster tank configured to store a solid or liquid propellant, the tank comprising:

• a heater configured to heat the tank and form a gas from the solid or liquid propellant in the tank;
• an opening having a surface area configured to extract a flow of the propellant gas from the tank;
• and
• a system for on-off control of the flow of gas, the system comprising
• a grid configured opposite the opening of the tank, the grid including holes, the holes having a total surface area greater than the surface area of the opening of the tank,
• a first thermal regulation system configured to regulate a temperature of the gas in the tank, and
• a second thermal regulation system configured to regulate a temperature of the grid, the first and second thermal regulation systems being configured to adjust a temperature difference between the temperature of the gas in the tank and the temperature of the grid, the temperature difference being variable between a first value higher than a threshold to transmit the gas flow through the grid and a second value lower than another threshold where the gas forms a solid deposit on the grid to obstruct the holes of the grid.