The 10 Foot Space Simulator at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been used for the last 40 years to test numerous spacecraft, including the Ranger series, several Mariner class, among many others and finally, the Spirit and Opportunity Mars Rovers. The request was made to convert this facility to an Ion Engine test facility, with a possible long term life test. The Ion engine was to propel the Prometheus spacecraft to Jupiter's moons. This paper discusses the challenges that were met, both from a procedural and physical standpoint. The converted facility must operate unattended, support a 30 Kw Ion Engine, operate economically, and be easily converted back to former operation as a spacecraft test facility.
Convert Ten Foot Environmental Test Chamber into an Ion Engine Test Chamber
23rd Aerospace Testing Seminar (ATS) ; 2006 ; Manhattan Beach, CA, United States
2006-10-10
Preprint
No indication
English
Convert Ten Foot Environmental Test Chamber into an Ion Engine Life Test Chamber
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2007
|Electric propulsion engine test chamber Patent
NTRS | 1965
|Company Expands Environmental Test Chamber Capabilities
Online Contents | 1994
NTRS | 1984
|Semitransparent OPV modules pass environmental chamber test requirements
Online Contents | 2013
|