The performance and lifetime expectations of 30 cm xenon ion thruster technology at low values of specific impulse were evaluated, with emphasis on 1000-2500 s operation. Power levels of up to 2.0 kW, appropriate for auxiliary and orbit maneuvering propulsion, were processed at thrust-to-power ratios up to 57 mN/kW. These tests were conducted using a derated 30 cm ion thruster with high-perveance design two-grid ion optics with xenon propellant. Lifetime projections were made based on a simple analysis of critical component erosion rates, and it was found that a strong correlation exists with the ratio of the specific impulse-to-input power. Under all operating conditions for which the projected thruster lifetime is less than 10,000 hrs, the life-limiting component of this technology is erosion of the accelerator grid due to charge-exchange ions. The use of alternative grid materials such as carbon is estimated to increase useful thruster lifetimes by as much as an order of magnitude and may enable long-life high thrust-density, sub-2500 s Isp operation. The performance and life of the derated thruster appears similar to that of the Russian SPT-100 thruster in the 1.0-2.0 kW, 1600-2000 s operational envelope.
Low-Isp derated ion thruster operation
AIAA, SAE, ASME, and ASEE, Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit ; 1992 ; Nashville, TN, United States
1992-07-01
Conference paper
No indication
English
Low-Isp derated ion thruster operation
AIAA | 1992
|Derated ion thruster development status
NTRS | 1993
|Derated ion thruster development status
NTRS | 1993
|Derated ion thruster development status
AIAA | 1993
|Derated Ion Thruster Development Status
NTIS | 1993
|