Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Brophy, John.
The Dawn ion propulsion system (IPS) was intended to be simply a larger version of the ion propulsion system that flew on Deep Space 1 (DS1). Implementation of this system to meet the needs of the Dawn mission, however, required modification of some IPS components and completely new developments of others.
A report proposes tailoring the diameters of the apertures in the accelerator grid of an ion thruster to reduce the open grid area through which un-ionized propellant gas can escape. The result would be a reduction in the loss of propellant gas and a corresponding increase in propellant efficiency. In a typical ion thruster, the plasma density decreases with radial distance from the centerline, and as a consequence, the diameters of ion beamlets decrease with increasing radial distance. According to the proposal, the apertures, through which the ion beamlets must pass, would be sized to match the diameters (with margin) of the beamlets. The decrease of the aperture diameters with radial distance would result in a significant reduction in the open grid area: In an example based on representative design parameters, the reduction could be as much as 30 percent. In this example, the transparency to un-ionized propellant would decrease from 0.24 to 0.17 and, as a result, the propellant efficiency would increase from 0.91 to 0.96.
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Proposed ion accelerators made by micromachining techniques. Advantages include small size and weight, modularity, and compatibility with integrated circuits. Used as sources of ion beams for industrial processes. Ion accelerator of this type combined with integrated electronic control and power circuitry, plus similarly miniaturized valves and other mechanisms for regulating flow of gas used to generate ions - all micromachined on single chip. Provides flexibility for tailoring characteristics of ion sources for specific applications; for example, construct array of many such devices to obtain large ion source or position multiple devices to obtain desired ion-beam pattern in processing chamber.
Nuclear-electric propulsion can significantly reduce the launch mass for manned Mars missions. By using high-specific-impulse (lsp) electric propulsion systems with advanced nuclear reactors, the total mass-to-orbit for a series of manned Mars flight is reduced. Propulsion technologies required for the manned Mars mission are described. Multi-megawatt Ion and Magneto-Plasma-Dynamic (MPD) propulsion thrusters, Power-Processing Units and nuclear power source are needed. Xenon (Xe)-Ion and MPD thruster performance are detailed. Mission analyses for several Mars mission options are addressed. Both MPD and Ion propulsion were investigated. A four-megawatt propulsion system power level was assumed. Mass comparisons for all-chemical oxygen/hydrogen propulsion missions and combined chemical and nuclear-electric propulsion Mars fleets are included. With fleets of small nuclear-electric vehicles, short trip times to Mars are also enabled.