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Initial Thrust Measurements of Marshall's Ion-ioN Thruster

Electronegative ion thrusters are a variation of traditional gridded ion thruster technology differentiated by the production and acceleration of both positive and negative ions. Benefits of electronegative ion thrusters include the elimination of lifetime-limiting cathodes from the thruster architecture and the ability to generate appreciable thrust from both charge species. While much progress has been made in the development of electronegative ion thruster technology, direct thrust measurements are required to unambiguously demonstrate the efficacy of the concept and support continued development. In the present work, direct thrust measurements of the thrust produced by the MINT (Marshall's Ion-ioN Thruster) are performed using an inverted-pendulum thrust stand in the High-Power Electric Propulsion Laboratory's Vacuum Test Facility-1 at the Georgia Institute of Technology with operating pressures ranging from 4.8 x 10(exp -5) and 5.7 x 10(exp -5) torr. Thrust is recorded while operating with a propellant volumetric mixture ratio of 5:1 argon to nitrogen with total volumetric flow rates of 6, 12, and 24 sccm (0.17, 0.34, and 0.68 mg/s). Plasma is generated using a helical antenna at 13.56 MHz and radio frequency (RF) power levels of 150 and 350 W. The acceleration grid assembly is operated using both sinusoidal and square waveform biases of +/-350 V at frequencies of 4, 10, 25, 125, and 225 kHz. Thrust is recorded for two separate thruster configurations: with and without the magnetic filter. No thrust is discernable during thruster operation without the magnetic filter for any volumetric flow rate, RF forward Power level, or acceleration grid biasing scheme. For the full thruster configuration, with the magnetic filter installed, a brief burst of thrust of approximately 3.75 mN +/- 3 mN of error is observed at the start of grid operation for a volumetric flow rate of 24 sccm at 350 W RF power using a sinusoidal waveform grid bias at 125 kHz and +/- 350 V. Similar bursts in thrust are observed using a square waveform grid bias at 10 kHz and +/- 350 V for volumetric flow rates of 6, 10, and 12 sccm at 150, 350, and 350 W respectively. The only operating condition that exhibits repeated thrust spikes throughout thruster operation is the 24 sccm condition with a 5:1 mixture ratio at 150 W RF power using the 10 kHz square waveform acceleration grid bias. Thrust spikes for this condition measure 3 mN with an error of +/- 2.5 mN. There are no operating conditions tested that show continuous thrust production.

Caruso, Natalie R. S.

The Impact of Harness Impedance on Hall Thruster Discharge Oscillations

Hall thrusters exhibit characteristic discharge voltage and current oscillations during steady-state operation. The lower frequency breathing-mode current oscillations are inherent to each thruster and could impact thruster operation and power processing unit (PPU) design. The design of the discharge output filter, in particular, the output capacitor is important because it supplies the high peak current oscillations that the thruster demands. However, space-rated, high-voltage capacitors are not readily available and can have significant mass and volume. So, it is important for a PPU designer to know what is the minimum amount of capacitance required to operate a thruster. Through Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis modeling and electrical measurements on the Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding thruster, it was shown that the harness impedance between the power supply and the thruster is the main contributor towards generating voltage ripple at the thruster. Also, increasing the size of the discharge filter capacitor, as previously implemented during thruster tests, does not reduce the voltage oscillations. The electrical characteristics of the electrical harness between the discharge supply and the thruster is crucial to system performance and could have a negative impact on performance, life and operation.

hollow cathodes

The Impact of Harness Impedance on Hall Thruster Discharge Oscillations

Hall thrusters exhibit characteristic discharge voltage and current oscillations during steady-state operation. The lower frequency breathing-mode current oscillations are inherent to each thruster and could impact thruster operation and power processing unit (PPU) design. The design of the discharge output filter, in particular, the output capacitor is important because it supplies the high peak current oscillations that the thruster demands. However, space-rated, high-voltage capacitors are not readily available and can have significant mass and volume. So, it is important for a PPU designer to know what is the minimum amount of capacitance required to operate a thruster. Through Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis modeling and electrical measurements on the Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding thruster, it was shown that the harness impedance between the power supply and the thruster is the main contributor towards generating voltage ripple at the thruster. Also, increasing the size of the discharge filter capacitor, as previously implemented during thruster tests, does not reduce the voltage oscillations. The electrical characteristics of the electrical harness between the discharge supply and the thruster is crucial to system performance and could have a negative impact on performance, life and operation.

ion engines

The Impact of Harness Impedance on Hall Thruster Discharge Oscillations

Hall thrusters exhibit characteristic discharge voltage and current oscillations during steady-state operation. The lower frequency breathing-mode current oscillations are inherent to each thruster and could impact thruster operation and PPU design. The design of the discharge output filter, in particular, the output capacitor is important because it supplies the high peak current oscillations that the thruster demands. However, space-rated, high-voltage capacitors are not readily available and can have significant mass and volume. So, it is important for a PPU designer to know what is the minimum amount of capacitance required to operate a thruster. Through SPICE modeling and electrical measurements on the Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) thruster, it was shown that the harness impedance between the power supply and the thruster is the main contributor towards generating voltage ripple at the thruster. Also, increasing the size of the discharge filter capacitor, as previously implemented during thruster tests, does not reduce the voltage oscillations. The electrical characteristics of the electrical harness between the discharge supply and the thruster is crucial to system performance and could have a negative impact on performance, life and operation.

Pinero, Luis R.

Environmental Testing of the HERMeS TDU-2 Hall Thruster

The Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) is a 12.5 kW magnetically shielded Hall thruster presently under development for deep-space missions. A development model HERMeS thruster, TDU-2, with borosilicate channel walls, has successfully undergone proto-qualification testing including random vibration and thermal-vacuum, demonstrating the thruster can survive critical launch and operational environmental requirements. The three-axis random vibrational tests were performed with the thruster body mounted directly to the shaker table using a modified loading schedule to compensate for the vibration isolation dampers under design for the flight thruster. Initial random vibration testing revealed issues with fragmentation of magnetic coil potting material and thruster spool mount fabrication weaknesses that were addressed with an alternate potting material and fabrication revisions that were then successfully retested with an additional round of random vibration tests. Thermal-vacuum testing involved three cycles of full-power 600 V 12.5 kW thruster operation from -121°C to +373°C which included eight hours at peak temperature as well as a hot restart. A thermal model of the test configuration was developed and validated with the experiment results within an average difference of 5°C. Before and after the random vibrational and thermal-vacuum tests, the thruster performance, plasma plume, thrust vector angle, discharge characteristics, and magnetic field profile were measured. The thruster performance, magnetic field, and most other parameters remained invariant throughout the environmental testing campaign. During the thermal testing, an increase in the discharge oscillation amplitude of 11% was observed as well as subtle thrust vector changes of ±0.2° as the thruster warmed from -121°C to +373°C.

Sorenson, Ryan

22 N HPGP Thruster Life Testing

In the ever-changing paradigm of efficient and capable spacecraft design, scientific missions continue pushing the envelope enabling spacecraft subsystems to deliver effective solutions to meet challenging new mission/spacecraft needs. From an in-space storable liquid chemical propulsion perspective, monopropellant hydrazine has been, and continues to be, a dependable propellant with considerable flight heritage, a variety of engine thrust classes available from multiple vendors, with repeatable and reliable performance. Additionally, the space propulsion industry has learned to successfully handle hydrazine, its regulations, the safety protocols, the personnel protective equipment, and the unique training standards–all requisite for loading spacecraft propulsion systems with toxic hypergolic hydrazine. The question now arises as to “what is next for in-space chemical propulsion?” Further, with the evolution and concrete advancements in innovative in-space green propellant technologies, capable of providing realizable benefits to scientific missions, concern over the reliability and availability of this higher performing and safer to handle class of propellants is waning. As science missions move forward with the potential flight in fusion of High Performance Green Propulsion (HPGP), NASA and its industry partners are working to address any gaps in system reliability, performance, or unique operational considerations. Propellant technology that offers both higher performance and significant reduction in personnel hazards compared to hydrazine presents an attractive propulsion subsystem design opportunity. Increased propulsion subsystem performance can result in lower spacecraft launch mass, larger scientific payloads, or extended on-orbit lifetimes. Mission trades using green propulsion technologies have been documented on multiple NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) mission classes, examining various parameters and requirements to support mission architectures in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), High Earth Orbit (HEO), geostationary, lunar, planetary, and Quasi-halo orbit around Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2). The results of these trade studies show promising, attainable benefits. The perceived programmatic risk of flying a newer propulsion technology has, unfortunately, not outweighed the benefits to date. To take advantage of the improved performance and mitigate programmatic risk, HPGP engines must demonstrate life testing at higher propellant throughputs than have currently been demonstrated. In an effort to proactively address the challenges with technology infusion into a risk-averse community, NASA and the Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA) outlined a collaborative Implementing Arrangement (IA) for the respective agencies to pursue increased HPGP technology maturation. This initial IA effort began in 2013, fresh off the heels of the successful PRISMA HPGP technology demonstration mission. The IA targeted objective is to reduce risk to potential future HPGP missions and fully characterize the LMP-103S propellant and associated engine performance. Over the past eight years, HPGP has flown in propulsion systems on twenty-five(25) spacecraft from seven(7) different Launch Ranges around the globe and on seven (7) different Launch Vehicles. Six(6) of these launches involved multiple loading operations for multiple spacecraft. For U.S. Range operations, nine (9) HPGP systems have been processed at Vandenberg Space Force Base(VSFB):six(6) in 2017, and three (3) in 2018. Six (6) more have been processed at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS)in May 2020, with three (3) systems launched in June 2020 and the remaining three (3) system were left loaded and ready until their launch in August of 2020. Three (3) more systems have been processed at Wallops Flight Facility(WFF)and launched in June 2021. In addition, these propulsion subsystems employed heritage propulsion subsystem component such as valves, filters, and pressure transducers, and have further demonstrated nominal functionality in both diaphragm and Propellant Management Device (PDM) propellant tanks. Based on these successes, HPGP technology continues to be considered for NASA Science Mission Directorate missions at GSFC. The work presented herein represents many years of development and collaborative efforts to successfully align higher performance, low toxicity hydrazine alternatives into scientific missions. NASA GSFC Propulsion Engineering, in collaboration with Bradford ECAPS, has developed mission specific thruster design and testing requirements to establish GSFC’s desired test conditions and firing sequences.In2017, the first flight-like 22N HPGP thruster Engineering Qualification Model (EQM-1)was designed and built by Bradford ECAPS to prove out the thruster design, materials, build process, and test campaign with respect to NASA GSFC critical component and mission requirements. This test program was developed to comprehensively test the thruster, the technology, and ultimately increase the 22N HPGP Technology Readiness Level(TRL). EQM-1was tested to environmental qualification levels prior to hot fire performance testing to represent the relevant end-to-end environment (launch to on-orbit operation)with required margin. This thruster demonstrated steady-state and pulse mode operational capability with propellant thruster throughput up to~53kg.At this throughput level, the EQM-1 engine began to present off-nominal performance and the test campaign was halted to allow for non-destructive testing and identify the root cause for the an omalous performance. Capitalizing on the successful elements of the EQM-1 campaign, an upgraded 22N HPGP EQM-2 has been manufactured by Bradford ECAPS to meet the complete GSFC requirements. The EQM-2 thruster’s test campaign has further demonstrated the robustness of the HPGP propulsion technology and increased the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) by undergoing a full acceptance test program, then proceeding into qualification, including environmental testing (vibration and shock to qualification levels),as well as hot-fire life testing, operating at steady-state and pulse modes with increased propellant thruster throughput to~150kg. The HPGP thruster performance testing enables effective HPGP thruster readiness evaluation to meet NASA candidate mission requirements in the future.

High

Discharge Hollow Cathode and Extraction Grid Analysis for the MiXI Ion Thruster

Miniature ion thrusters are well-suited future space missions such as Terrestrial Planet Finder - Interferometer (TPF-I), where high efficiency thrusters using non-contaminating noble gas propellant are desirable. Transient dynamic and orbital analyses have shown that the low-noise, continuous thrust of the Miniature Xenon Ion (MiXI) thruster is desirable for TPF-I formation rotation maneuvers when compared with other thruster options [1], [2]. The 3cm diameter MiXI thruster, Figure 1, was originally designed using experimental methods and is capable of high Isp (> 3,000 sec), propellant efficiency > 80%, and thrust from <0.1 mN to >1.5 mN [3]. The MiXI thruster must demonstrate high levels of thrust resolution and a low minimum impulse bit to ensure it meets the precision formation flying needs of missions such as TPF-I. A novel concept for controlling the ion extraction voltages yields the necessary thrust characteristics for the MiXI thruster. Experiments verify these techniques and two dimensional computational models show that such techniques should have minimal effect on the lifetime of the thruster. During this effort, the MiXI thruster incorporates, for the first time, flight like hollow cathodes for both the discharge chamber and beam neutralization.

ions

Comparison of NASA's 30-cm Ion Thruster Capabilities with the Dawn Mission Requirements

The Dawn ion thrusters meet all of the performance and life requirements for the Dawn mission. FT001 has two magnets in sideways in the middle magnet ring, but this has only a minor impact on the thruster performance. Electron-backstreaming is the first wear-out failure mechanism for the Dawn ion thrusters - PFA Modeling Indicates: a) The mission cannot be completed with a single thruster; b) The probability for mission success based on accelerator grid wear is > 99% for the worst case thruster usage for nominal thruster beamlet profiles; and c) FT002 has the most peaked beam profile which impacts the thruster s throughput capability. PFA results indicate that this reduces the probability for mission success based on accelerator grid wear to 97% based on the worst case thruster usage. The wear-out probability is zero if all three thrusters are used during the mission.

ion thrusters

Status of NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) Long-Duration Test as of 50,000 h and 900 kg Throughput

The NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) project is developing the next-generation solar electric propulsion ion propulsion system with significant enhancements beyond the state-of-the-art NASA Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Application Readiness (NSTAR) ion propulsion system in order to provide future NASA science missions with enhanced propulsion capabilities. As part of a comprehensive thruster service life assessment, the NEXT Long-Duration Test (LDT) was initiated in June 2005 to demonstrate throughput capability and validate thruster service life modeling. The NEXT LDT exceeded its original qualification throughput requirement of 450 kg in December 2009. To date, the NEXT LDT has set records for electric propulsion lifetime and has demonstrated 50,170 hours of operation, processed 902 kg of propellant, and delivered 34.9 MN-s of total impulse. The NEXT thruster design mitigated several life-limiting mechanisms encountered in the NSTAR design, dramatically increasing service life capability. Various component erosion rates compare favorably to the pretest predictions based upon semi-empirical ion thruster models. The NEXT LDT either met or exceeded all of its original goals regarding lifetime demonstration, performance and wear characterization, and modeling validation. In light of recent budget constraints and to focus on development of other components of the NEXT ion propulsion system, a voluntary termination procedure for the NEXT LDT began in April 2013. As part of this termination procedure, a comprehensive post-test performance characterization was conducted across all operating conditions of the NEXT throttle table. These measurements were found to be consistent with prior data that show minimal degradation of performance over the thruster's 50 kh lifetime. Repair of various diagnostics within the test facility is presently planned while keeping the thruster under high vacuum conditions. These diagnostics will provide additional critical information on the current state of the thruster, in regards to performance and wear, prior to destructive post-test analyses performed on the thruster under atmosphere conditions.

Life test

Status of NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) Long-Duration Test as of 50,000 h and 900 kg Throughput

The NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) project is developing the next-generation solar electric propulsion ion propulsion system with significant enhancements beyond the state-of-the-art NASA Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Application Readiness (NSTAR) ion propulsion system in order to provide future NASA science missions with enhanced propulsion capabilities. As part of a comprehensive thruster service life assessment, the NEXT Long-Duration Test (LDT) was initiated in June 2005 to demonstrate throughput capability and validate thruster service life modeling. The NEXT LDT exceeded its original qualification throughput requirement of 450 kg in December 2009. To date, the NEXT LDT has set records for electric propulsion lifetime and has demonstrated 50,170 h of operation, processed 902 kg of propellant, and delivered 34.9 MN-s of total impulse. The NEXT thruster design mitigated several life-limiting mechanisms encountered in the NSTAR design, dramatically increasing service life capability. Various component erosion rates compare favorably to the pretest predictions based upon semi-empirical ion thruster models. The NEXT LDT either met or exceeded all of its original goals regarding lifetime demonstration, performance and wear characterization, and modeling validation. In light of recent budget constraints and to focus on development of other components of the NEXT ion propulsion system, a voluntary termination procedure for the NEXT LDT began in April 2013. As part of this termination procedure, a comprehensive post-test performance characterization was conducted across all operating conditions of the NEXT throttle table. These measurements were found to be consistent with prior data that show minimal degradation of performance over the thruster's 50 kh lifetime. Repair of various diagnostics within the test facility is presently planned while keeping the thruster under high vacuum conditions. These diagnostics will provide additional critical information on the current state of the thruster, in regards to performance and wear, prior to destructive post-test analyses performed on the thruster under atmosphere conditions.

Ion thruster

Performance and Facility Background Pressure Characterization Tests of NASAs 12.5-kW Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding Thruster

NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration Mission (SEP/TDM) project is funding the development of a 12.5-kW Hall thruster system to support future NASA missions. The thruster designated Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) is a 12.5-kW Hall thruster with magnetic shielding incorporating a centrally mounted cathode. HERMeS was designed and modeled by a NASA GRC and JPL team and was fabricated and tested in vacuum facility 5 (VF5) at NASA GRC. Tests at NASA GRC were performed with the Technology Development Unit 1 (TDU1) thruster. TDU1's magnetic shielding topology was confirmed by measurement of anode potential and low electron temperature along the discharge chamber walls. Thermal characterization tests indicated that during full power thruster operation at peak magnetic field strength, the various thruster component temperatures were below prescribed maximum allowable limits. Performance characterization tests demonstrated the thruster's wide throttling range and found that the thruster can achieve a peak thruster efficiency of 63% at 12.5 kW 500 V and can attain a specific impulse of 3,000 s at 12.5 kW and a discharge voltage of 800 V. Facility background pressure variation tests revealed that the performance, operational characteristics, and magnetic shielding effectiveness of the TDU1 design were mostly insensitive to increases in background pressure.

Performance

NASA HERMeS Hall Thruster Electrical Configuration Characterization

The NASA Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) 12.5 kW Technology Demonstration Unit-1 (TDU-1) Hall thruster has been the subject of extensive technology maturation in preparation for development into a flight ready propulsion system. Part of the technology maturation was to test the TDU-1 thruster in several ground based electrical configurations to assess the thruster robustness and suitability to successful in-space operation. The ground based electrical configuration testing has recently been demonstrated as an important step in understanding and assessing how a Hall thruster may operate differently in-space compared to ground based testing, and to determine the best configuration to conduct development and qualification testing. This paper describes the electrical configuration testing of the HERMeS TDU-1 Hall thruster in NASA Glenn Research Center's Vacuum Facility 5. The three electrical configurations examined were 1) thruster body tied to facility ground, 2) thruster floating, and 3) thruster body electrically tied to cathode common. The HERMeS TDU-1 Hall thruster was also configured with two different exit plane boundary conditions, dielectric and conducting, to examine the influence on the electrical configuration characterization.

HERMeS

Hall Thruster Thermal Modeling and Test Data Correlation

The life of Hall Effect thrusters are primarily limited by plasma erosion and thermal related failures. NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in cooperation with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have recently completed development of a Hall thruster with specific emphasis to mitigate these limitations. Extending the operational life of Hall thursters makes them more suitable for some of NASA's longer duration interplanetary missions. This paper documents the thermal model development, refinement and correlation of results with thruster test data. Correlation was achieved by minimizing uncertainties in model input and recognizing the relevant parameters for effective model tuning. Throughout the thruster design phase the model was used to evaluate design options and systematically reduce component temperatures. Hall thrusters are inherently complex assemblies of high temperature components relying on internal conduction and external radiation for heat dispersion and rejection. System solutions are necessary in most cases to fully assess the benefits and/or consequences of any potential design change. Thermal model correlation is critical since thruster operational parameters can push some components/materials beyond their temperature limits. This thruster incorporates a state-of-the-art magnetic shielding system to reduce plasma erosion and to a lesser extend power/heat deposition. Additionally a comprehensive thermal design strategy was employed to reduce temperatures of critical thruster components (primarily the magnet coils and the discharge channel). Long term wear testing is currently underway to assess the effectiveness of these systems and consequently thruster longevity.

Hall thruster

Technology development and demonstration of a low thrust resistojet thruster

Three thrusters were fabricated to definitized thruster drawings using new rhenium vapor deposition technology. Two of the thrusters were operated using ammonia as propellant and one was operated using hydrogen propellant for performance determination. All demonstrated consistent operational specific impulse performance while demonstrating thermal performance better than the development units from which they evolved. Two of the thrusters were subjected to environmental structural testing including vibration, acceleration and shock loading to specifications. Both of the thrusters subjected to the environmental tests passed all required tests. The third, spare, thruster was introduced into the life test portion of the program. Two thrusters were then subjected to a life cycling test program under typical spacecraft operating power levels. During the life test sequence, the hydrogen thruster accrued 720 operating life test cycles, more than 370 on-off cycles and 365 hours of powered up time. The ammonia accrued approximately 380 on-off cycles and 392.2 on time hours of operation during the 720 cycling hour test. Both thrusters completed the scheduled operational life test in reasonably good condition, structurally integral and capable of indefinite further operation.

Pfeifer, G. R.

Electric thruster models for multimegawatt nuclear electric propulsion mission design

Three types of electric thrusters currently under development at JPL have potential to support future missions which utilize multimegawatt nuclear electric propulsion. These electric thrusters are the electron bombardment ion thruster, the magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster, and the electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) thruster. The electron bombardment ion thruster is a relatively mature technology which has been developed for operation at kilowatt power levels but will require new development for application in the multimegawatt regime. The MPD engine represents a technology which may be very well suited to steady-state multimegawatt applications but which has been limited to sub-scale (100's of kW) and pulsed (MW) testing thus far. The ECR plasma engine represents a class of very promising new concepts which are still in the basic research phase of development, but which may possess important fundamental advantages over other electric thruster technologies. Models of these thrusters are described and used to make projections of thrusters specific mass, efficiency, and power handling capacity for operation in the multimegawatt regime.

Leifer, Stephanie D.

High Power MPD Thruster Performance Measurements

High power magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters are being developed as cost effective propulsion systems for cargo transport to lunar and Mars bases, crewed missions to Mars and the outer planets, and robotic deep space exploration missions. Electromagnetic MPD thrusters have demonstrated, at the laboratory level, the ability to process megawatts of electrical power while providing significantly higher thrust densities than electrostatic electric propulsion systems. The ability to generate higher thrust densities permits a reduction in the number of thrusters required to perform a given mission, and alleviates the system complexity associated with multiple thruster arrays. The specific impulse of an MPD thruster can be optimized to meet given mission requirements, from a few thousand seconds with heavier gas propellants up to 10,000 seconds with hydrogen propellant. In support of programs envisioned by the NASA Office of Exploration Systems, Glenn Research Center is developing and testing quasi-steady MW-class MPD thrusters as a prelude to steady state high power thruster tests. This paper provides an overview of the GRC high power pulsed thruster test facility, and presents preliminary performance data for a quasi-steady baseline MPD thruster geometry.

LaPointe, Michael R.

Status of the NEXT Ion Thruster Long Duration Test

The status of NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) Long Duration Test (LDT) is presented. The test will be conducted with a 36 cm diameter engineering model ion thruster, designated EM3, to validate and qualify the NEXT thruster propellant throughput capability of 450 kg xenon. The ion thruster will be operated at various input powers from the NEXT throttle table. Pretest performance assessments demonstrated that EM3 satisfies all thruster performance requirements. As of June 26, 2005, the ion thruster has accumulated 493 hours of operation and processed 10.2 kg of xenon at a thruster input power of 6.9 kW. Overall ion thruster performance, which includes thrust, thruster input power, specific impulse, and thrust efficiency, has been steady to date with very little variation in performance parameters.

Frandina, Michael M.

Performance of a Cylindrical Hall-Effect Thruster Using Permanent Magnets

While annular Hall thrusters can operate at high efficiency at kW power levels, it is difficult to construct one that operates over a broad envelope from 1 kW down to 100 W while maintaining an efficiency of 45-55%. Scaling to low power while holding the main dimensionless parameters constant requires a decrease in the thruster channel size and an increase in the magnetic field strength. Increasing the magnetic field becomes technically challenging since the field can saturate the miniaturized inner components of the magnetic circuit and scaling down the magnetic circuit leaves very little room for magnetic pole pieces and heat shields. In addition, the central magnetic pole piece defining the interior wall of the annular channel can experience excessive heat loads in a miniaturized Hall thruster, with the temperature eventually exceeding the Curie temperature of the material and in extreme circumstances leading to accelerated erosion of the channel wall. An alternative approach is to employ a cylindrical Hall thruster (CHT) geometry. Laboratory model CHTs have operated at power levels ranging from 50 W up to 1 kW. These thrusters exhibit performance characteristics that are comparable to conventional, annular Hall thrusters of similar size. Compared to the annular Hall thruster, the CHTs insulator surface area to discharge chamber volume ratio is lower. Consequently, there is the potential for reduced wall losses in the channel of a CHT, and any reduction in wall losses should translate into lower channel heating rates and reduced erosion, making the CHT geometry promising for low-power applications. This potential for high performance in the low-power regime has served as the impetus for research and development efforts aimed at understanding and improving CHT performance. Recently, a 2.6 cm channel diameter permanent magnet CHT (shown in Fig. 1) was tested. This thruster has the promise of reduced power consumption over previous CHT iterations that employed electromagnets. Data are presented to expose the effect different controllable parameters have on the discharge and to summarize performance measurements (thrust, Isp, efficiency) obtained using a thrust stand. In addition, beam current data are presented to show the effect of the magnetic field topology on the plume profile and current utilization and to gain insight into the thruster s operation. These data extend and improve upon the results previously presented by the authors in Ref. [1].

Polzin, Kurt A.