A class of miniaturized pulsed plasma thrusters (PPT), known as MicroPPTs, is currently in development at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Edwards Research Site, California. The MicroPPTs use a surface discharge across solid Teflon propellant to provide precise impulse bits in the 10 micro-newton- per-second range. In the near term, these thrusters can provide propulsive attitude control on 150-kg-class spacecraft using one-fifth the dry mass of conventional torque rods and reaction wheels. Eventually these thrusters are designed for primary and attitude control propulsion on future 25-kg class spacecraft. Efforts to characterize MicroPPT performance and the thruster plume are underway. To this end, a modified torsional thrust stand has been developed for the purpose of accurately measuring the low-level thrust generated by the MicroPPT. A Herriott Cell interferometer is introduced to establish the electron and neutral densities in the thruster plume. Comparison of the measured electron density with modeling predictions shows close agreement. Additionally, a Pockels cell has been developed to provide a zero-impedance MicroPPT breakdown voltage measurement, and an intensified CCD array has been used to characterize the divergence of both the thruster plume and the particulate emission. A synopsis is also presented of the status of the thruster development, including lifetime, thermal, and environmental testing.


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    Titel :

    AFRL MicroPPT Development for Small Spacecraft Propulsion


    Beteiligte:
    G. G. Spanjers (Autor:in) / D. R. Bromaghim (Autor:in) / J. Lake (Autor:in) / D. White (Autor:in) / J. H. Schilling (Autor:in)

    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2002


    Format / Umfang :

    13 pages


    Medientyp :

    Report


    Format :

    Keine Angabe


    Sprache :

    Englisch




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