Electromagnetic thrusters such as the Magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster and Pulsed Inductive Thruster provide the relatively unique capability to process megawatts (MW) of power compactly at specific impulses (Isp) of 2,000 to 10,000 seconds. This capability is well suited to demanding future missions such as cargo and piloted missions to Mars, in which large payload masses or short trip times require MW power levels. These two thrusters have been modeled at both the performance and system mass level, addressing thruster efficiency, Isp, voltage and current, and the mass of thrusters as well as their corresponding heat rejection and power processing subsystems. The resulting data have been assessed for representative Mars exploration missions using detailed low thrust trajectory codes in conjunction with the thruster system models. Analyses indicate that the thruster type and technology levels have less impact on overall mission performance than the total power level. For the 2.5 and 5 MW cases considered, the lower power delivered 50% more payload.


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    Title :

    Mission Performance of High‐Power Electromagnetic Thruster Systems


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    SPACE TECH.& APPLIC.INT.FORUM-STAIF 2006: 10th Conf Thermophys Applic Microgravity; 23rd Symp Space Nucl Pwr & Propulsion; 4th Conf Human/Robotic Tech & Nat'l Vision for Space Explor.; 4th Symp Space Coloniz.; 3rd Symp on New Frontiers & Future Concepts ; 2006 ; Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA)


    Published in:

    AIP Conference Proceedings ; 813 , 1 ; 201-208


    Publication date :

    2006-01-20


    Size :

    8 pages





    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



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