An engineering model 30 cm ion thruster

Abstract

Thruster development at Hughes Research Laboratories and NASA Lewis Research Center has brought the 30-cm mercury bombardment ion thruster to the state of an engineering model. This thruster has been designed to have sufficient internal strength for direct mounting on gimbals, to weigh 7.3 kg, to operate with a corrected overall efficiency of 71%, and to have 10,000 hours lifetime. Subassemblies, such as the ion optical system, isolators, etc., have been upgraded to meet launch qualification standards. This paper presents a summary of the design specifications and performance characteristics which define the interface between the thruster module and the remainder of the propulsion system.