Xenon Ion Propulsion for Orbit Transfer

V.K. Rawlin, M.J. Patterson, and

R.P. Gruber
NASA Lewis Research Center
Cleveland, OH

--'

AIAAIDGLWJSASS
21st International Electric Propulsion Conference
July 18-20, 1990 / Orlando, FL
h ~ permission
r to copy or republish, contact the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
570 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024
 V . K . R a w l i n , M. J. P a t t e r s o n , and R . P. G r u b e r
NASA L e w i s Research C e n t e r
C l e v e l a n d , OH

ABSTRACT

F o r more t h a n 30 y e a r s , NASA has c o n d u c t e d a n i o n p r o p u l s i o n p r o g r a m

w h i c h has r e s u l t e d i n s e v e r a l e x p e r i m e n t a l space f l i g h t d e m o n s t r a t i o n s
and t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f many s u p p o r t i n g t e c h n o l o g i e s . T e c h n o l o g i e s
a p p r o p r i a t e f o r geosynchronous s t a t i o n k e e p i n g , E a r t h - o r b i t t r a n s f e r
m i s s i o n s , and i n t e r p l a n e t a r y m i s s i o n s have been d e f i n e d and e v a l u a t e d .
The s t a t u s o f c r i t i c a l i o n p r o p u l s i o n s y s t e m e l e m e n t s i s r e v i e w e d i n t h i s
p a p e r . E l e c t r o n bombardment i o n t h r u s t e r s f o r p r i m a r y p r o p u l s i o n have
e v o l v e d t o o p e r a t e on xenon i n t h e 5-10 kW power r a n g e . T h r u s t e r
e f f i c i e n c i e s o f 0 . 7 and s p e c i f i c i m p u l s e v a l u e s o f 4000 s have been
documented. The b a s e l i n e t h r u s t e r c u r r e n t l y u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t b y NASA
LeRC i n c l u d e s r i n g - c u s p m a g n e t i c f i e l d plasma c o n t a i n m e n t and d i s h e d
t w o - g r i d i o n o p t i c s . Based on p a s t e x p e r i e n c e and d e m o n s t r a t e d
s i m p l i f i c a t i o n s , power p r o c e s s o r s f o r t h e s e t h r u s t e r s s h o u l d have
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 500 p a r t s , a mass o f 40 k g , and a n e f f i c i e n c y n e a r 0.94..
Thrust vector c o n t r o l , v i a i n d i v i d u a l t h r u s t e r gimbals, i s a mature
t e c h n o l o g y . H i g h p r e s s u r e , gaseous xenon p r o p e l l a n t s t o r a g e and c o n t r o l
schemes, u s i n g f l i g h t q u a l i f i e d h a r d w a r e , r e s u l t i n p r o p e l l a n t t a n k a g e
f r a c t i o n s between 0.1 and 0 . 2 . I n - s p a c e and g r o u n d i n t e g r a t i o n t e s t i n g
has d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t i o n p r o p u l s i o n systems c a n be s u c c e s s f u l l y
integrated w i t h t h e i r host spacecraft. I o n p r o p u l s i o n system
t e c h n o l o g i e s a r e m a t u r e and c a n s i g n i f i c a n t l y enhance a n d / o r e n a b l e a
v a r i e t y o f m i s s i o n s i n t h e n a t i o n ' s space p r o p u l s i o n p r o g r a m .

INTRODUCTION

E l e c t r i c P r o p u l s i o n (EP) can o f f e r m a j o r b e n e f i t s f o r o r b i t t r a n s f e r
m i s s i o n s where f a s t d e l i v e r y i s n o t e s s e n t i a l ( s u c h as i n a l a u n c h on
s c h e d u l e e n ~ i r o n m e n t ) . l - ~ F o r example, i f a s o l a r powered, i o n based
E l e c t r i c O r b i t T r a n s f e r V e h i c l e (EOTV) i s u s e d t o p e r f o r m a n e a r - E a r t h o r b i t
t r a n s f e r f r o m l o w - E a r t h o r b i t (LEO), 4700 k g i s needed i n LEO ( p a y l o a d +
O T V ) . 3 T h i s compares t o t h e 17,200 k g needed i f a n I n t e r i m Upper S t a t e
( I U S ) i s used. As i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g u r e 1, t h e s e mass s a v i n g s r e s u l t i n g
f r o m t h e h i g h e r performance of t h e e l e c t r i c upper s t a g e a l l o w a r e d u c t i o n i n
l a u n c h v e h i c l e c l a s s ( f r o m T i t a n I V t o D e l t a 11). The t r a d e - o f f i s a l o n g e r
t r a n s f e r t i m e f r o m LEO t o t h e o p e r a t i o n a l o r b i t . F o r c e r t a i n m i s s i o n s , t h e
p o t e n t i a l s a v i n g s a c c r u i n g f r o m t h e u s e o f a n EOTV c a n e x c e e d $lOOM p e r
la~nch.~

E l e c t r o s t a t i c i o n t h r u s t e r research i n t h e United States i s supported by t h e

N a t i o n a l A e r o n a u t i c s and Space A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ' s (NASA) O f f i c e o f
A e r o n a u t i c s , E x p l o r a t i o n and T e c h n o l o g y (OAET) and and i s t e c h n i c a l l y

Copyright @ 1990 by the American Institute of Aeronautics

and Astronautics, Inc. No copyright is asserted in the
United States under Titie 17, U.S. Code. The U.S. Govern- 1
ment has a royalty-free license to exercise all rights under
the copyright claimed herein for Governmental purposes.
All other rights are reserved by the copyright owner.
managed b y NASA's Lewis Research C e n t e r (LeRC) and J e t P r o p u l s i o n Laboratory
( J P L ) - 5 Support i s a l s o provided by t h e United S t a t e s A i r Force (USAF) ,
t h e S t r a t e g i c Defense I n i t i a t i v e O r g a n i z a t i o n (SDIO), and programs w i t h i n
s e v e r a l a e r o s p a c e companies. Ion p r o p u l s i o n i s a l s o being developed i n
o t h e r c o u n t r i e s f o r many a p p l i c a t i o n s , a s summarized i n t h e n e x t s e c t i o n .
Elements comprising an ion p r o p u l s i o n system a r e shown i n Table 1 . Recent
s t u d i e s i n d i c a t e t h a t e l e c t r i c p r o p u l s i o n system elements a r e t e c h n i c a l l y
ready t o be i n t e g r a t e d i n t o p r o p u l s i o n systems and f l i g h t demonstrated t o
enhance u s e r a c c e p t a b i 1i To demonstrate t h i s , t h e United S t a t e s Air
Force (USAF) i s planning t h e E l e c t r i c I n s e r t i o n T r a n s f e r Experiment
ELITE).^ The i n i t i a l ELITE program included t h e i n t e g r a t i o n of 30 kW
c l a s s ammonia a r c j e t s and 5-10 kW c l a s s xenon ion t h r u s t e r s , advanced
photovoltaic s o l a r a r r a y s , an autonomous f l i g h t c o n t r o l system, and a
d i a g n o s t i c s package. The ELITE p r o p u l s i o n system has r e c e n t l y been s c a l e d
back t o a demonstration of 5 kW-class a r c j e t t e c h n o l o g y . 7 However, f o r
near-Earth m i s s i o n s , i n t e r e s t i n s o l a r powered p r o p u l s i o n subsystems w i t h
h i g h performance, such a s t h e ion p r o p u l s i o n subsystem, s t i l l e x i s t s . *
This paper d i s c u s s e s t h e s t a t u s of c r i t i c a l elements of NASA's i n e r t gas ion
propulsion systems. While s p e c i f i c i n t e g r a t i o n p h i l o s o p h i e s ( s u c h a s
s e l e c t i n g a modular o r i n t e g r a t e d p r o p u l s i o n system, power p r o c e s s i n g
grounding s t r a t e g i e s , and thermal impacts on t h e s p a c e c r a f t ) a r e extremely
important, t h e y a r e beyond t h e scope of t h i s e f f o r t .
BACKGROUND

This s e c t i o n p r e s e n t s a b r i e f h i s t o r i c a l overview of ion p r o p u l s i o n systems

developed i n t h e United S t a t e s , Japan, West Germany, and Great B r i t a i n f o r
space f l i g h t o r p r e - f l i g h t programs.
United S t a t e s
NASA LeRC i n i t i a t e d i t s space e l e c t r i c p r o p u l s i o n program i n 1957, which led
t o t h e development of t h e e l e c t r o n bombardment mercury ion t h r u s t e r . 9
Figure 2 shows a c r o s s s e c t i o n of a t y p i c a l ion t h r u s t e r . Gaseous
p r o p e l l a n t atoms a r e introduced i n t o t h e d i s c h a r g e chamber where t h e y a r e
bombarded by e l e c t r o n s emitted by a hollow cathode and c o l l e c t e d by t h e
anode. The i o n i z a t i o n process i s enhanced by t h e p r e s e n c e of a magnetic
f i e l d , t h e d e t a i l s of which w i l l be d i s c u s s e d i n a f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n . Some
of t h e electron-atom c o l l i s i o n s r e s u l t i n t h e c r e a t i o n of i o n s which d r i f t
toward t h e a c c e l e r a t i n g e l e c t r o d e s , which a r e b i a s e d n e g a t i v e l y w i t h r e s p e c t
t o plasma p o t e n t i a l . These e l e c t r o d e s f o c u s and a c c e l e r a t e t h e i o n s which
e x i t t h e t h r u s t e r i n a broad beam. The ion beam i s t h e n n e u t r a l i z e d by a
stream of e l e c t r o n s e m i t t e d from an e x t e r n a l hollow c a t h o d e c a l l e d a
n e u t r a l i z e r . Figure 3 t r a c e s t h e development of e l e c t r o n bombardment ion
t h r u s t e r technology a t NASA from t h e lOcm d i a m e t e r d e v i c e f i r s t l a b o r a t o r y
t e s t e d i n 1 9 6 0 . ~This ~ concept was developed, i n t e g r a t e d i n t o a p r o p u l s i o n
system, and t e s t e d on a 47 minute b a l l i s t i c f l i g h t i n t h e Space E l e c t r i c
Rocket Test 1 (SERT l ) . l l The t h r u s t e r t e s t l a s t e d 30 minutes and
v e r i f i e d t h a t t h e ion beam could be n e u t r a l i z e d and t h a t t h e t h r u s t produced
was nearly equal t o t h a t expected from ground t e s t measurements and
c a l c u l a t i o n s . Laboratory t h r u s t e r s , ranging i n d i a m e t e r from 5cm t o 150cm,
have been f a b r i c a t e d and t e s t e d t o v e r i f y s c a l i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s . A 15cm
d i a m e t e r t h r u s t e r was d e v e l o p e d f o r a second f l i g h t d e m o n s t r a t i o n ,
d e s i g n a t e d SERT 11.12s13 The SERT I 1 s y s t e m was l a u n c h e d i n t o a sun
synchronous 1000 km h i g h p o l a r o r b i t i n 1970. The SERT I 1 i o n p r o p u l s i o n
system c o n t a i n e d a l l o f t h e e l e m e n t s shown i n T a b l e 1 . The e x t e n d e d
o p e r a t i o n o f t h e t w o t h r u s t e r s d e m o n s t r a t e d l o n g t e r m s p a c e c r a f t and
p r o p u l s i o n s y s t e m c o m p a t i b i 1 i t y i n t h e g e o c e n t r i c e n v i ronment .I4 The
t h r u s t l e v e l was c o n f i r m e d b y s e v e r a l methods, i n c l u d i n g a l t i t u d e changes
and onboard a c c e l e r o m e t e r measurements.12 An a c c e l e r a t i n g e l e c t r o d e
e r o s i o n p r o b l e m , n o t e x p e r i e n c e d i n g r o u n d t e s t i n g due t o g r a v i t y e f f e c t s ,
o c c u r r e d d u r i n g t h e f l i g h t t e s t and t h i s s h o r t e n e d t h e i n t e n d e d h i g h v o l t a g e
o p e r a t i n g t i m e . T h i s p r o b l e m was s u b s e q u e n t l y c h a r a c t e r i z e d and
e l i m i n a t e d . l S The s o l a r a r r a y f o r SERT I 1 was t h e l a r g e s t i n space a t
t h a t t i m e and p r o v i d e d 1270 w a t t s i n i t i a l l y and a b o u t 800 w a t t s a f t e r more
t h a n 11 y e a r s i n space. I n 1981, t h e p r o p e l l a n t s u p p l y was e x h a u s t e d and
t h r u s t e r e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n was t e r m i n a t e d .

I n 1974, t h e s i x t h Advanced T e c h n o l o g y S a t e l l i t e (ATS-6) was l a u n c h e d i n t o

geosynchronous o r b i t . l W h i l e t h e t w o e l e c t r o n bombardment c e s i u m i o n
e n g i n e s f a i l e d due t o p r o p e l l a n t f e e d s y s t e m p r o b l e m s , n e u t r a l i z e r o p e r a t i o n
was s a t i s f a c t o r y and d e m o n s t r a t e d c o n t r o l o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t p o t e n t i a l as t h e
s p a c e c r a f t went i n and o u t o f e c l i p s e o r e x p e r i e n c e d m a g n e t i c s u b s t o r m s .

The success o f t h e SERT 11 p r o g r a m l e d t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a p r o p u l s i o n

system u t i l i z i n g 8cm d i a m e t e r m e r c u r y i o n t h r u s t e r s s i z e d f o r N o r t h - S o u t h
s t a t i o n k e e p i n g (NSSK) f u n c t i o n s o f s m a l l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s s a t e l l i t e s i n
geosynchronous o r b i t . The I o n A u x i l i a r y P r o p u l s i o n System ( I A P S ) ~ ~ was
i n t e g r a t e d as an e x p e r i m e n t on a p r o p o s e d USAF s p a c e c r a f t . The s p a c e c r a f t
i s c u r r e n t l y i n s t o r a g e and t h e r e a r e n o p l a n s t o f l y i t . The f l i g h t t e s t
g o a l , a f t e r e x t e n d e d g r o ~ n d - t e s t i n g l ~ , was ~ ~ , t o simulate a 7 year
s t a t i o n k e e p i n g m i s s i o n v i a d e m o n s t r a t i o n o f 7000 h o u r s o f f u l l t h r u s t
o p e r a t i o n w i t h 2500 o n / o f f c y c l e s . The f l i g h t t e s t was a l s o i n t e n d e d t o
c o r r e l a t e t h e r e s u l t s o f g r o u n d and space t e s t i n g , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e a r e a s
o f t h r u s t e r e f f l u e n t s and s y s t e m p e r f o r m a n c e .

I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e a u x i l i a r y t h r u s t e r program, t h e SERT I 1 t h r u s t e r was a l s o

s c a l e d up i n s i z e and power f o r t h e p e r f o r m a n c e o f p r i m a r y p r o p u l s i o n
f u n c t i o n s . LeRC i n i t i a t e d t h e S o l a r E l e c t r i c P r o p u l s i o n System (SEPS)
t e c h n o l o g y p r o g r a m i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 7 0 ' s . T h i s p r o g r a m deve7oped t h e 3 0 cm
d i a m e t e r , 2.7 kW, m e r c u r y i o n t h r u s t e r , and o t h e r c r i t i c a l t e c h n o l o g i e s
r e q u i r e d o f a p r o p u l s i o n ~ ~ s t e m . 2 0The c a p a b i l i t i e s o f SEPS e n a b l e d
a n d / o r enhanced a l a r g e c l a s s o f p l a n e t a r y m i s ~ i o n s . ~ 1The SEPS
t e c h n o l o g y was t r a n s f e r r e d t o NASA's M a r s h a l 1 Space F l i g h t C e n t e r i n 1.980.9

T h r o u g h o u t t h e 1 9 7 0 1 s , m e r c u r y was t h e b a s e l i n e p r o p e l l a n t f o r i o n
t h r u s t e r s . The m a j o r a d v a n t a g e s o f m e r c u r y a r e i t s h i g h m o l e c u l a r w e i g h t ,
l o w i o n i z a t i o n p o t e n t i a l , s t o r a b i l i t y , and c o n v e n i e n t v a p o r i z a t i o n . These
f e a t u r e s i n i t i a l l y o f f s e t t o x i c i t y , r e a c t i v i t y , and f a c i l i t y / s p a c e c r a f t
c o n t a m i n a t i o n i s s u e s . However, t h e s e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s have more r e c e n t l y l e d
t o i n c r e a s e d i n t e r e s t i n i n e r t gases f o r i o n p r o p u l s i o n f o r l a r g e n e a r - E a r t h
space systems ( L S S ) . ~ I~n e r t gases p r o v i d e some p e r f o r m a n c e b e n e f i t s ,
such as n e a r l y i n s t a n t a n e o u s s t a r t u p and s i g n i f i c a n t l y s i m p l i f i e d power
p r o c e s s i n g , w h i c h p o s i t i v e l y i m p a c t o r b i t r a i s i n g and s t a t i o n k e e p i n g
f u n c t i o n s . I n e r t gases a r e a l s o n o n c o n t a m i n a t i n g and d o n o t r e a c t w i t h
ground o r space system e l e m e n t s , s i m p l i f y i n g i n t e g r a t i o n w i t h t h e s p a c e c r a f t
and E a r t h - l a u n c h v e h i c l e s . They a r e a l s o n o n t o x i c and n o n r e a c t i v e when
r e l e a s e d t o t h e b i o s p h e r e , m i n i m i z i n g e c o l o g i c a l c o n c e r n s . Because o f t h e s e
c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , t h e i n e r t gases xenon, k r y p t o n , and a r g o n were t e s t e d i n t h e
b a s e l i n e m e r c u r y t h r u s t e r d e v e l o p e d f o r t h e SEPS p r 0 ~ r a m . 2 3 The t h r u s t e r
was o p e r a t e d up t o 9 kW, more t h a n t h r e e t i m e s i t s r a t e d power l e v e l o f 2.7
kW, and t h e i o n c u r r e n t e x t r a c t i o n c a p a b i l i t y was f o u n d t o s c a l e i n v e r s e l y ,
as e x p e c t e d , w i t h t h e s q u a r e r o o t o f t h e p r o p e l l a n t a t o m i c mass. Because o f
t h e s i m i l a r i t i e s between xenon and m e r c u r y , t h e o p t i m a l o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s
were f o u n d t o be n e a r l y i d e n t i c a l t o t h o s e w i t h m e r c u r y . W i t h t h e l i g h t e r
gases, k r y p t o n and a r g o n , t h e p r o p e l l a n t e f f i c i e n c y d e c r e a s e d because t h e
t h r u s t e r had been o p t i m i z e d f o r m e r c u r y . The SEPS t h r u s t e r , o p e r a t e d on
xenon, became t h e b a s e l i n e e n g i n e f o r p r i m a r y i o n p r o p u l s i o n . 2 3 ~ 2 4 I n
a d d i t i o n t o t h e e f f o r t s a t LeRC, JPL s i m p l i f i e d t h e SEPS i o n p r o p u l s i o n
sub-system20 (BIMOD) and c o n v e r t e d i t t o a t w o - t h r u s t e r lOkW xenon i o n
p r o p u l s i o n module .24

A xenon i o n p r o p u l s i o n subsystem ( X I P S ) has a l s o been d e v e l o p e d b y Hughes

Research L a b o r a t o r i e s ( H R L ) , ~w ~i t h INTELSAT s u p p o r t . T h i s s y s t e m was
ground t e s t e d , w i t h NASA s u p p o r t , f o r 4350 h o u r s and 3850 ON-OFF
~ ~ c l e s . 2 6T h i s t e s t s i m u l a t e d o v e r 1 0 y e a r s o f s t a t i o n k e e p i n g f o r a l a r g e
communications s a t e l l i t e . The XIPS t h r u s t e r i s 25cm i n d i a m e t e r and
produces a b o u t 64 mN o f t h r u s t . HRL has a l s o d e s i g n e d a p r o p u l s i o n s y s t e m
w i t h s i m i l a r t e c h n o l o g y u s i n g a 13cm d i a m e t e r t h r u s t e r . T h i s v e r s i o n
produces a b o u t 1 8 mN o f t h r ~ s t . ~

Japan

C o o p e r a t i o n between J a p a n ' s N a t i o n a l Space Development Agency (NASDA), t h e

N a t i o n a l Aerospace L a b o r a t o r y (NAL), and t h e E l e c t r o t e c h n i c a l L a b o r a t o r y
(ETL) r e s u l t e d i n a s u c c e s s f u l space f l i g h t t e s t o f a s m a l l (2mN) m e r c u r y
i o n p r o p u l s i o n s y s t e m on t h e t h i r d E n g i n e e r i n g T e s t S a t e l l i t e
( ~ 1 5 - 1 1 1 ). 2 7 Based on t h e r e s u l t s o f t h a t t e s t and f u t u r e m i s s i o n
t r a d e - o f f s , NASDA has chosen t o d e v e l o p a xenon i o n p r o p u l s i o n s y s t e m f o r
s t a t i o n k e e p i n g w h i c h u t i l i z e s 12cm d i a m e t e r , 23mN t h r u s t e r s . 2 8
Development o f t h i s i o n e n g i n e s y s t e m ( I E S ) i s a j o i n t e f f o r t b y NASDA,
M i t s u h i s h i E l e c t r i c C o r p o r a t i o n (MELCO), and T o s h i b a . The IES i s s l a t e d t o
p e r f o r m t h e NSSK f u n c t i o n s f o r ETS-VI, w h i c h i s s c h e d u l e d f o r l a u n c h i n t h e
e a r l y 1 9 9 0 1 s . 2 9 E x t e n s i v e t e s t i n g o f IES c r i t i c a l e l e m e n t s has been
conducted w i t h e n g i n e e r i n g model h a r d w a r e a t t h e component and subsystem
l e v e l s . 3 0 Japan i s a l s o d e v e l o p i n g a 30cm d i a m e t e r xenon i o n t h r u s t e r f o r
a u x i l i a r y p r o p u l s i o n of LSS and f o r p r i m a r y p r o p u l s i o n on a n O r b i t T r a n s f e r
V e h i c l e (OTV).

West Germany

The European Space Agency (ESA) has s p o n s o r e d e l e c t r i c p r o p u l s i o n

development programs f o r a b o u t t w o decades, r e s u l t i n g i n xenon i o n
p r o p u l s i o n systems based on t w o d i f f e r e n t i o n i z a t i o n p r o c e s s e s . 3 1

? h e R a d i o f r e q u e n c y I o n T h r u s t e r Assembly ( R I T A ) w i l l be t e s t e d as a f l i g h t
e x p e r i m e n t on t h e European R e t r i e v a b l e C a r r i e r (EURECA-I), s c h e d u l e d f o r
l a u n c h i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 9 0 ~ s . 3 2 R I T A has a l s o been p r o p o s e d as one o f t w o
o p e r a t i o n a l xenon i o n systems f o r s t a t i o n k e e i n ESA's advanced
communications t e c h n o l o g y s a t e l l i t e , SAT-2.39,3j RITA i s c o m p r i s e d o f
f l i g h t l e v e l h a r d w a r e u t i l i z i n g a lOcm d i a m e t e r t h r u s t e r ( R I T - 1 0 ) w h i c h uses
r a d i o f r e q u e n c y ( R F ) e n e r g y t o g e n e r a t e i o n s and t h e n e l e c t r o s t a t i c a l l y
a c c e l e r a t e s t h e s e i o n s i n t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l manner. T h i s t h r u s t e r was
i n i t i a l l y d e v e l o p e d f o r use w i t h m e r c u r y p r o p e l l a n t and was t e s t e d w i t h
m e r c u r y f o r 8000 h o u r s . I t has been c o n v e r t e d t o u s e xenon as t h e
p r o p e l l a n t and e x t e n d e d l i f e t e s t s , t o q u a l i f y i t f o r t h e 1 0 y e a r SAT-2
m i s s i o n , a r e s c h e d u l e d t o b e g i n t h i s y e a r . West Germany i s a l s o d e v e l o p i n g
t h e RIT-35, a 35cm d i a m e t e r xenon i o n e n g i n e f o r p r i m a r y p r o p u l s i o n on
p l a n e t a r y m i s s i o n s .31

Great B r i t a i n

component d e v e l o p m e n t has begun.34, 4

The UK-10 I o n P r o p u l s i o n Subsystem I P S ) f o r SAT-2 has been d e s i g n e d and
IPS i s based on t h e UK-10 e l e c t r o n
bombardment xenon i o n t h r u s t e r , w h i c h e v o l v e d f r o m t h e T5 m e r c u r y i o n
L i k e t h e R I T A t h r u s t e r , t h e UK-10 has a beam d i a m e t e r o f
10cm. The UK-10 i s an e l e c t r o n bombardment t y p e t h r u s t e r t h a t u t i l i z e s a
h o l l o w c a t h o d e e l e c t r o n e m i t t e r t o bombard p r o p e l l a n t atoms and g e n e r a t e
i o n s . T5 t h r u s t e r components have been t e s t e d e x t e n s i v e l y w i t h m e r c u r y and
l i f e t e s t i n g w i t h xenon i s p l a n n e d . 3 4 C u r r e n t l y , t h e p r o g r a m s c h e d u l e i s
dependent on SAT-2's s c h e d u l e . 3 5 A l a r g e r i o n t h r u s t e r (UK-25) f o r
p r i m a r y p r o p u l s i o n i s a l s o b e i n g d e v e l o p e d i n E n g l a n d . The UK-25 has a 25cm
beam d i a m e t e r and has been o p e r a t e d on m e r c u r y and xenon.31

I n summary, a number o f c o u n t r i e s have d e v e l o p e d , assembled, and t e s t e d

c o m p l e t e f l i g h t q u a l i f i e d i o n p r o p u l s i o n s y s t e m s . S e v e r a l have f l o w n , some
f o r extended p e r i o d s , d e m o n s t r a t i n g t h e m a t u r i t y o f t h e t e c h n o l o g y .
S c h r e i b ' s t r i l o g y p r o v i d e s an e x c e l l e n t t r e a t i s e c o n c e r n i n g t h e t i m e l i n e s s
and u t i l i t y o f xenon i o n p r o p u l s i o n . 3 7 - 3 9

STATUS OF CRITICAL SYSTEM ELEMENTS

7he p r e v i o u s s e c t i o n r e f e r r e d t o s e v e r a l i o n p r o p u l s i o n systems w h i c h , w i t h
t h e e x c e p t i o n of SEPS h a r d w a r e , w e r e p r i m a r i l y d e v e l o p e d f o r s t a t i o n k e e p i n g
a p p l i c a t i o n s . T h i s s e c t i o n discusses t h e s t a t u s o f c r i t i c a l t h r u s t system
components and t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f p r i m a r y i o n p r o p u l s i o n systems
developed i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . I n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e discussion considers i o n
t h r u s t e r s , power p r o c e s s o r s , t h r u s t v e c t o r c o n t r o l , and p r o p e l l a n t s t o r a g e
and d i s t r i b u t i o n . Component c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , such as t h r u s t e r and power
p r o c e s s o r p e r f o r m a n c e , power l e v e l , mass, and l i f e t i m e , as w e l l a s s y s t e m
p a r t i c l e and f i e l d e f f l u e n t s a r e a l s o a d d r e s s e d . The power s o u r c e , power
d i s t r i b u t i o n , t h e r m a l c o n t r o l , and s t r u c t u r e a r e n o t c o n s i d e r e d .

Thrusters

As m e n t i o n e d i n t h e Background s e c t i o n , t h e SEPS t h r u s t e r o p e r a t e d on xenon

became t h e b a s e l i n e e n g i n e f o r p r i m a r y i o n p r o p u l s i o n i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s .
Many o f t h e m i s s i o n s s t u d i e d u n d e r t h e SEPS p r o g r a m r e s u l t e d i n p r o p u l s i o n
modules w i t h 10 o r more t h r u s t e r s and power p r o c e s s o r s . System a n a l y s e s
i n d i c a t e s i g n i f i c a n t b e n e f i t s i n c o s t , s p e c i f i c mass, and s i m p l i c i t y c a n be
o b t a i n e d by i n c r e a s i n g t h e t h r u s t and power l e v e l o f each t h r u s t e r / p o w e r
p r o c e s s o r u n i t . Two a p p r o a c h e s w e r e t a k e n t o i n c r e a s e t h e e n g i n e t h r u s t
l e v e l . F i r s t , w i t h 30cm d i a m e t e r t h r u s t e r s , t h e beam c u r r e n t a n d v o l t a g e
w e r e i n c r e a s e d . T o t a l t h r u s t e r p o w e r l e v e l s o f u p t o 17 kW w e r e
demonstrated w i t h no s i g n i f i c a n t l o s s i n t h r u s t - t o - p o w e r r a t i o . 4 0 Next,
l a r g e 50cm d i a m e t e r t h r u s t e r s w e r e b u i l t a n d e v a l u a t e d o v e r s i m i l a r p o w e r
ranges.40-42 Two t h r u s t e r m a g n e t i c f i e l d c o n f i g u r a t i o n s w e r e a l s o
e v a l u a t e d and, a s d i s c u s s e d b e l o w , o n e was s e l e c t e d o n t h e b a s i s o f l i f e t i m e
considerations.

D i v e r s e n t m a q n e t i c f i e l d - F i g u r e 4 shows a c r o s s - s e c t i o n o f t h e SEPS, o r
J - S e r i e s , xenon i o n t h r u s t e r t e s t e d a t NASA LeRC a n d JPL i n t h e l o w t h r u s t
p r i m a r y p r o p u l s i o n p r o g r a m s . 23,24 N o t a b l e f e a t u r e s a r e t h e a x i a l a n d
r a d i a l rod-shaped permanent magnets used t o g e n e r a t e a m i l d l y d i v e r g e n t
magnetic f i e l d between t h e c a t h o d e and s c r e e n g r i d p o l e p i e c e s , and t h e use
o f a p h y s i c a l b a f f l e b e t w e e n t h e c a t h o d e a n d anode t o b o o s t t h e d i s c h a r g e
impedance and, t h e r e f o r e , t h e e f f i c i e n c y o f i o n g e n e r a t i o n .

A f t e r t h e p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e J - S e r i e s x e n o n i o n t h r u s t e r was c h a r a c t e r i z e d ,
i t was s u b j e c t e d t o e x t e n d e d t e s t s a t t h e 1 0 kW i n p u t p o w e r l e v e 1 4 3 t o
v e r i f y s o l u t i o n s t o known l i f e - l i m i t i n g mechanisms . 4 4 - 4 8 During t h e
d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e SEPS t h r u s t e r , t w o m a j o r l i f e - l i m i t i n g mechanisms w e r e
i d e n t i f i e d . One was s p u t t e r e r o s i o n , b y i o n s , o f d i s c h a r g e c h a m b e r
components, s u c h a s t h e c a t h o d e o r i f i c e p l a t e , t h e d i s c h a r g e b a f f l e , a n d t h e
s c r e e n g r i d . The o t h e r was s p a l l i n g o f t h i s s p u t t e r e d m a t e r i a l w h i c h was
d e p o s i t e d a t o t h e r d i s c h a r g e chamber l o c a t i o n s . I n general, t h e erosion
r a t e s o f d i s c h a r g e chamber c o m p o n e n t s w e r e f o u n d t o i n c r e a s e w i t h i n c r e a s e s
i n t h e d i s c h a r g e v o l t a g e and c u r r e n t , a n d beam c u r r e n t . T h e r e f o r e , i n o r d e r
t o o f f s e t a n t i c i p a t e d i n c r e a s e s o f e r o s i o n r a t e s i n t h e 1 0 kW x e n o n
t h r u s t e r , t h e d i s c h a r g e v o l t a g e was r e d u c e d f r o m 32 v o l t s (SEPS c o n d i t i o n )
t o 28 v o l t s by r e d u c i n g t h e d i s c h a r g e b a f f l e d i a m e t e r 2 3 a s t h e beam
c u r r e n t was i n c r e a s e d f r o m 2 t o 5 a m p e r e s . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e c a t h o d e o r i f i c e
d i a m e t e r u a s i n c r e a s e d f r o m 0 . 7 6 mm t o 1 . 4 7 mm t o a v o i d e x c e s s i v e o r i f i c e
p l a t e e r o s i o n e x p e c t e d a t a c a t h o d e e m i s s i o n c u r r e n t o f 3 2 amperes compared
t o 1 3 amperes f o r t h e SEPS t h r u s t e r . W i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f o n e a r e a , t h e
e r o s i o n r a t e s o f t h e known e r o d i b l e d i s c h a r g e c h a m b e r c o m p o n e n t s w e r e
s u c c e s s f u l l y c o n t r o l l e d t h r o u g h t h e s e c a t h o d e and b a f f l e geometry
improvements and a d j u s t e d o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s . However, t h e maximum
e r o s i o n r a t e o f t h e u p s t r e a m s i d e o f t h e b a f f l e i n c r e a s e d f r o m t h e 9x10-9
m / h r o b s e r v e d i n SEPS t e s t s 4 4 t o b e t w e e n 6 6 0 a n d 900x10-9 m / h r d u r i n g
t h e 10 kld x e n o n t e ~ t s . ~T3h i s was c l e a r l y u n a c c e p t a b l e b e c a u s e a t t h i s
h i g h r a t e , t h e b a f f l e w o u l d b e e r o d e d c o m p l e t e l y t h r o u g h i n l e s s t h a n 2000
hours. I n a d d i t i o n , t h e l i f e - l i m i t i n g mechanism o f s p a l l i n g d e p o s i t e d
s p u t t e r e d m a t e r i a l was e x a c e r b a t e d b y t h e i n c r e a s e d e r o s i o n r a t e s o b s e r v e d
w i t h xenon. E l i m i n a t i o n o f t h e b a f f l e a n d b a f f l e m o u n t i n g s t r u c t u r e t o
a v o i d e r o s i o n and s u b s e q u e n t d e p o s i t i o n o f s p u t t e r e d m a t e r i a l r e s u l t e d i n
severe performance d e g r a d a t i o n as t h e i o n p r o d u c t i o n c o s t n e a r l y doubled.40

The mechanism c a u s i n g t h e o b s e r v e d b a f f l e e r o s i o n was i n v e s t i g a t e d w i t h a

retarding p o t e n t i a l analyzer.49 That e f f o r t detected energetic ions
emanating f r o m t h e h o l l o w c a t h o d e plasma w h i c h r e q u i r e d r e t a r d i n g p o t e n t i a l s
o f o v e r 50 v o l t s t o p r e v e n t t h e i r c o l l e c t i o n . P o t e n t i a l s o f t h i s m a g n i t u d e
were s e v e r a l t i m e s a n y e l e c t r o d e p o t e n t i a l . Besides possessing energies
s u f f i c i e n t t o d o s p u t t e r damage, t h e c u r r e n t d e n s i t y o f t h e s e " j e t " i o n s was
found t o increase d r a m a t i c a l l y w i t h i n c r e a s i n g cathode emission c u r r e n t .
R e s e a r c h on b a f f l e e r o s i o n i n J - S e r i e s x e n o n i o n t h r u s t e r s h a s a l s o b e e n
c o n d u c t e d a t J P L . ~ O , ~ U~ s i n g h i g h l y p o l i s h e d s a m p l e b a f f l e p l a t e s a n d a
s e n s i t i v e p r o f i l o m e t e r , t h i s e f f o r t r e s u l t e d i n measurements o f e x t r e m e l y
high erosion r a t e s o f t h e upstream s i d e o f t h e b a f f l e i n s h o r t t e r m t e s t s o f
a b o u t 24 h o u r s . I t h a s b e e n shown t h a t some t h r u s t e r i n t e r n a l e r o s i o n c a n
be s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e d u c e d b y a d d i n g s m a l l a m o u n t s o f r e a c t i v e g a s e s , s u c h a s
n i t r o g e n , t o t h e d i s c h a r g e c h a m b e r p r o p e l l a n t .50-53 Using t h i s technique,
JPL r e d u c e d t h e u p s t r e a m b a f f l e e r o s i o n b y f a c t o r s o f u p t o 1 8 . 5 u n d e r SEPS
o p e r a t i n g condition^.^^ However, s u c h r e d u c t i o n s a r e l i k e l y t o b e
i n a d e q u a t e f o r h i g h p o w e r t h r u s t e r s , e s p e c i a l l y when r e d e p o s i t i o n i s
considered.

Because o f t h e h i g h e r o s i o n a n d s u b s e q u e n t r e d e p o s i t i o n r a t e s o b s e r v e d w i t h
t h e J-Series d i v e r g e n t magnetic f i e l d t h r u s t e r s , research on d i v e r g e n t f i e l d
t h r u s t e r s was t e r m i n a t e d a t LeRC.

R i n q - c u s p m a q n e t i c f i e l d - The m a g n e t i c f i e l d c o n f i g u r a t i o n o f t h e p r e s e n t
b a s e l i n e 3 0 a n d 50cm d i a m e t e r t h r u s t e r s i s t h e r i n g - c u s p d e s i g n shown i n
F i g u r e 2. S t r o n g b o u n d a r y m a g n e t i c f i e l d s f o r p l a s m a c o n t a i n m e n t e l i m i n a t e
t h e need f o r p o l e p i e c e s o r b a f f l e s n e a r t h e c a t h o d e .

T h r u s t e r s w i t h t h i s geometry have been t e s t e d w i t h m e r c u r y and i n e r t gas

p r o p e l l a n t s o v e r a w i d e r a n g e o f power l e v e l s and f o r p e r i o d s o f t i m e up t o
4350 h o u r s 2 6 , 4 0 , 4 1 954-60.

P e r f o r m a n c e - The p e r f o r m a n c e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f s e v e r a l t w o - g r i d , r i n g - c u s p
xenon i o n t h r u s t e r s a r e shown i n F i g u r e s 5 a n d 6 . T h e s e d a t a w e r e t a k e n
f r o m numerous s t u d i e s . 4 1 v 5 * g a n d 60 F i g u r e 5 p l o t s c a l c u l a t e d t h r u s t a s a
f u n c t i o n o f t h r u s t e r i n p u t p o w e r f o r t w o - g r i d 25, 30, a n d 50cm d i a m e t e r
thrusters. The d a t a show t h a t t h e t h r u s t i n c r e a s e d n e a r l y l i n e a r l y f r o m
0.07 t o 0 . 5 N a s t h e t h r u s t e r i n p u t p o w e r was i n c r e a s e d f r o m 1 . 4 t o 1 5 kW.
l h i s t r e n d was i n d e p e n d e n t o f t h r u s t e r s i z e . F o r t h e d a t a shown, t h e
t h r u s t - t o - p o w e r r a t i o s v a r i e d f r o m 0 . 0 4 6 t o 0 . 0 3 2 N/kW, d e c r e a s i n g a t t h e
h i g h e r pok1er l e v e l s , a s d i s c h a r g e chamber c o n d i t i o n s a n d g r i d v o l t a g e s w e r e
v a r i e d o v e r w i d e r a n g e s . The t h r u s t - t o - p o w e r r a t i o i s r e l a t i v e l y
i n s e n s i t i v e t o l a r g e v a r i a t i o n s i n i n p u t p o w e r b e c a u s e t h e beam v o l t a g e i s
much g r e a t e r t h a n t h e i o n p r o d u c t i o n c o s t . I n t h i s c a s e , t h e r a t i o v a r i e s
n e a r l y i n v e r s e l y w i t h t h e s q u a r e r o o t o f t h e beam v o l t a g e . For the data o f
F i g u r e 5, t h e beam v o l t a g e was i n c r e a s e d f r o m a b o u t 9 0 0 t o 2200 v o l t s ,
e x p l a i n i n g t h e approximately 30 p e r c e n t decrease observed i n t h e
thrust-to-power r a t i o .

Figure 6 p l o t s i o n t h r u s t e r efficiency, calculated from t h e data o f Figure

5, a s a f u n c t i o n o f s p e c i f i c i m p u l s e . T h r u s t e r e f f i c i e n c y i s g i v e n b y :

Eq. 1

w h e r e T i s t h r u s t i n N, Isp i s s p e c i f i c i m p u l s e i n s, g i s a c c e l e r a t i o n
due t o g r a v i t y ( 9 . 8 1 m / s 2 ) , a n d P i s t h r u s t e r i n p u t p o w e r i n w a t t s . The
f i g u r e shows t h a t t h r u s t e r e f f i c i e n c y i n c r e a s e d f r o m a b o u t 0 . 5 t o 0 . 8 a s t h e
s p e c i f i c i m p u l s e was i n c r e a s e d f r o m 2200 t o 5000 s . E q u a t i o n 1 may b e
r e w r i t t e n a p p r o x i m a t e l y as :

NT 3 2 NU Gn
+ \NU 2 2e ( E V )
Eq. 2
m
w h e r e 3 i s a t h r u s t l o s s f a c t o r a c c o u n t i n g f o r beam i o n s w h i c h a r e m u l t i p l y
c h a r g e d o r h a v e n o n a x i a l t r a j e c t o r i e s . The t e r m Nu i s t h e m e a s u r e d
p r o p e l l a n t e f f i c i e n c y a n d i s d e f i n e d a s i o n beam c u r r e n t d i v i d e d b y
p r o p e l l a n t f l o w r a t e e x p r e s s e d a s a c u r r e n t o f s i n g l y c h a r g e d i o n s . The e/m
t e r m i s t h e c h a r g e - t o - m a s s r a t i o f o r a x e n o n i o n . The E V t e r m i s t h e i o n
p r o d u c t i o n c o s t i n w a t t s p e r beam ampere. E q u a t i o n 2 shows t h a t t h r u s t e r
e f f i c i e n c y i s approximately p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e square o f t h e s p e c i f i c
i m p u l s e d i v i d e d b y t h e sum o f t h e s q u a r e o f t h e s p e c i f i c i m p u l s e a n d a
n e a r l y c o n s t a n t t e r m r e l a t e d t o t h e i o n p r o d u c t i o n c o s t . Thus, t h r u s t e r
e f f i c i e n c y w o u l d be e x p e c t e d t o i n c r e a s e a n d a p p r o a c h a c o n s t a n t v a l u e
( a p p r o x i m a t e l y t h e p r o p e l l a n t e f f i c i e n c y ) as t h e s p e c i f i c i m p u l s e t e r m
becomes l a r g e w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e i o n p r o d u c t i o n c o s t t e r m . The d a t a o f
F i g u r e 6 shox t h e i n c r e a s i n g p o r t i o n o f t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p .

P r o p e l l a n t t y p e - F i g u r e s 5 a n d 6 a l s o show t h e p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e 30cm
d i a m e t e r t h r u s t e r 6 0 o p e r a t e d w i t h k r y p t o n p r o p e l l a n t . F o r a g i v e n power
l e v e l t h e t h r u s t o b t a i n e d u s i n g k r y p t o n was l o w e r t h a n t h a t w i t h xenon, a s
e x p e c t e d , b y a p p r o x i m a t e l y t h e s q u a r e r o o t o f t h e a t o m i c mass r a t i o .
I h r u s t e r e f f i c i e n c i e s comparable t o t h o s e o b t a i n e d w i t h xenon a r e
achievable, b u t a t s p e c i f i c impulse values h i g h e r by t h e inverse o f t h e
s q u a r e r o o t o f t h e a t o m i c mass r a t i o , a s i n d i c a t e d b y E q u a t i o n 2 . I t was
a l s o found t h a t t h e d i s c h a r g e v o l t a g e r e q u i r e d t o r e a c h t h e xenon
e f f i c i e n c i e s was much h i g h e r w i t h k r y p t o n t h a n w i t h x e n o n ( 4 0 v s 27 v o l t s ) .
T h i s would s e v e r e l y l i m i t screen g r i d l i f e t i m e o f t h e t h r u s t e r w i t h k r y p t o n
p r o p e l l a n t , j u s t as i t d i d i n t h e J - S e r i e s t h r u s t e r . 2 3 It i s expected
t h a t a t h r u s t e r r e d e s i g n w i l l be r e q u i r e d t o o b t a i n k r y p t o n i o n t h r u s t e r
lifetimes of interest.

Mass - A p r o p u l s i o n s y s t e m mass mode161 h a s b e e n d e r i v e d f r o m a

m e t h o d o l o g y p r e v i o u s l y p r e s e n t e d . 6 2 The m o d e l u s e d t h e p r o p u l s i o n s y s t e m
components shown i n T a b l e 1 . E s t i m a t e s o f t h e masses o f a d v a n c e d
t h r u s t e r s 6 2 n e a r l y a g r e e w i t h t h e m e a s u r e d masses o f t h e I A P S a n d SEPS
t h r u s t e r s . R i n g - c u s p t h r u s t e r s b u i l t a n d t e ~ t e d ~ ~h avv e~ masses
o o f 12.7
and 1 2 . 5 k g , r e s p e c t i v e l y , a l s o i n c l o s e a g r e e m e n t w i t h t h e m o d e l
predictions.

L i f e t i m e - SEPS, 30cm d i a m e t e r , m e r c u r y i o n t h r u s t e r s a c c u m u l a t e d 3 0 0 0 0
h o u r s o f o p e r a t i o n o v e r a w i d e r a n g e o f o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s .45,46952
These e x p e r i e n c e s l e d t o a r e l a t i v e l y c o m p l e t e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f
l i f e - l i m i t i n g mechanisms i n 3 kW c l a s s i o n t h r u s t e r s . As m e n t i o n e d e a r l i e r ,
t h i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g was t h e b a s i s f o r c a t h o d e a n d b a f f l e g e o m e t r y
i m p r o v e m e n t s and a d j u s t e d o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s . T h e s e a l t e r a t i o n s p r o v i d e d
successful s o l u t i o n s t o a n t i c i p a t e d problems i n an extended t e s t o f t h e 10
kW xenon J - S e r i e s t h r ~ s t e r . ~ 3However, a s d i s c u s s e d e a r l i e r , a n i n c r e a s e d
c u r r e n t o f e n e r g e t i c i o n s f r o m t h e h o l l o w cathode d i s c h a r g e caused
u n e x p e c t e d and i n t o l e r a b l e u p s t r e a m e r o s i o n o f t h e d i s c h a r g e b a f f l e .
T h e r e f o r e , b a f f l e l e s s r i n g - c u s p t h r u s t e r s a r e now t h e b a s e l i n e g e o m e t r y .
Two e x t e n d e d t e s t s o f b a f f l e l e s s r i n g - c u s p i o n t h r u s t e r s h a v e b e e n c o n d u c t e d
and a r e d i s c u s s e d b e l o w .
A 1 . 3 kW ring-cusp xenon t h r u s t e r , developed f o r NSSK a p p l i c a t i o n s , 2 5 was
t e s t e d by HRL with xenon p r o p e l l a n t i n a c y c l i c mode f o r 4350 t h r u s t i n g
hours w i t h 3850 on-off ~ ~ c l e s . 2 6The 25cm d i a m e t e r t h r u s t e r used SEPS
geometry cathodes and t h r e e - g r i d ion o p t i c s . During t h e f i r s t s e v e r a l
hundred h o u r s , t h r e e wear mechanisms were o b s e r v e d . The f i r s t was s p u t t e r
e r o s i o n of t h e d i s c h a r g e c a t h o d e o r i f i c e p l a t e . A new c a t h o d e w i t h a l a r g e r
diameter o r i f i c e (1.27mm compared t o 0.76mm f o r t h e o r i g i n a l c a t h o d e ) , was
t e s t e d f o r 3600 a d d i t i o n a l hours and showed no s i g n i f i c a n t e r o s i o n . The
second wear mechanism was e l o n g a t i o n of edge a p e r t u r e s i n t h e d e c e l e r a t o r
e l e c t r o d e . Apparently, beamlet d i v e r g e n c e a t t h e t h r u s t e r p e r i m e t e r , where
t h e ion c u r r e n t d e n s i t y was much lower t h a n a t s m a l l e r r a d i i , was l a r g e
enough t o cause d i r e c t d e c e l e r a t o r e l e c t r o d e impingement. T h i s e r o s i o n was
minimized by reducing t h e d i a m e t e r of t h e s c r e e n g r i d p e r i m e t e r h o l e s . The
t h i r d wear mechanism observed was enlargement of a c c e l e r a t o r g r i d a p e r t u r e s
due t o charge exchange ion impingement on t h e a p e r t u r e w a l l s . T h i s caused
long-term performance l o s s e s due t o reduced p r o p e l l a n t u t i l i z a t i o n
efficiencies.
Low energy i o n s a r e formed when an e l e c t r o n t r a n s f e r s from a n e u t r a l
p r o p e l l a n t atom t o an e n e r g e t i c beam When c r e a t e d away from t h e
t h r u s t e r t h e s e charge exchange i o n s a r e harmless t o t h e t h r u s t e r . When
formed i n t h e i n t e r e l e c t r o d e s p a c e , t h e a c c e l e r a t o r g r i d h o l e , o r
immediately downstream of t h e a c c e l e r a t o r g r i d , however, t h e s e i o n s can f a l l
back t o t h e a c c e l e r a t o r g r i d t o cause s p u t t e r damage. W i t h two-grid ion
o p t i c s , most of t h i s damage o c c u r s on t h e downstream s i d e of t h e a c c e l e r a t o r
g r i d . With t h r e e - g r i d o p t i c s n e a r l y a l l of t h e damage o c c u r s on
a c c e l e r a t o r g r i d h o l e w a l l s . 6 4 Erosion of a c c e l e r a t o r g r i d a p e r t u r e s
during a H R L wear mechanism t e s t of t h e XIPS t h r u s t e r l e d t o a gradual
r e d u c t i o n i n beam c u r r e n t ( a b o u t 4 p e r c e n t p e r thousand h o u r s ) .
Approximately h a l f of t h e e r o s i o n was a t t r i b u t e d t o n e u t r a l p r o p e l l a n t and
half t o i n c r e a s e d charge exchange ion p r o d u c t i o n r e s u l t i n g from f a c i l i t y
induced i n c r e a s e s i n t h e n e u t r a l d e n s i t y .
Figure 7 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e e f f e c t of f a c i l i t y p r e s s u r e . S 8 The f a c i l i t y
p u m p i n g speed f o r xenon was b r i e f l y i n c r e a s e d a t c o n s t a n t t h r u s t e r
c o n d i t i o n s by i n c r e a s i n g t h e cryopumped s u r f a c e a r e a . T h i s reduced t h e
n e u t r a l d e n s i t y and f a c i l i t y induced c h a r g e exchange p o r t i o n of t h e
a c c e l e r a t o r impingement c u r r e n t . The wear mechanism t e s t demonstrated t h a t
i n e r t gas t h r u s t e r s t e s t e d i n i n a d e q u a t e l y pumped f a c i l i t i e s w i l l e x p e r i e n c e
s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n c r e a s e d c h a r g e exchange ion e r o s i o n , which can s u b s t a n t i a l l y
reduce and p r e v e n t a c c u r a t e d e t e r m i n a t i o n of a c c e l e r a t o r g r i d l i f e t i m e .
A second extended t e s t of a b a f f l e l e s s , ring-cusp t h r u s t e r was conducted a t
LeRC and was r e c e n t l y t e r m i n a t e d a f t e r accumulating 900 hours of c o n t i n u o u s
o p e r a t i o n a t an i n p u t power of 5.7 ~ w . ~ The O t h r u s t l e v e l was 0 . 2 N . The
t h r u s t e r had a nominal d i a m e t e r of 30cm and employed two-grid ion o p t i c s .
The ion beam v o l t a g e and c u r r e n t of 1500 v o l t s and 3 . 2 amperes,
r e s p e c t i v e l y , were both a p p r o x i m a t e l y double t h o s e used i n t h e H R L t e s t .
Like t h e 10 kW J - S e r i e s xenon ion t h r u s t e r t e s t and t h e 1 . 3 kW XIPS t e s t , no
measurable s c r e e n g r i d e r o s i o n was observed i n t h e r e c e n t LeRC t e s t .
Considering u n c e r t a i n t i e s i n t h e measurement, t h e t i m e t o wear h a l f wa
through t h e s c r e e n g r i d was e s t i m a t e d t o be i n e x c e s s of 30,000 h o u r s . 0 !i
These r e s u l t s confirm t h a t reducing t h e d i s c h a r g e v o l t a g e from 32 v o l t s t o
28 v o l t s in high power xenon t h r u s t e r s has e f f e c t i v e l y e l i m i n a t e d s c r e e n
g r i d e r o s i o n a s a t h r u s t e r l i f e - l i m i t i n g mechanism.
No m e a s u r a b l e , i r r e v e r s i b l e t h r u s t e r p e r f o r m a n c e d e g r a d a t i o n was d e t e c t e d
o v e r t h e c o u r s e o f t h e LeRC 5 kW l i f e t e s t , o t h e r t h a n t h a t a t t r i b u t a b l e t o
u n o p t i m i z e d n e u t r a l i z e r 0 ~ e r a t i o n . 6 ~A c c e l e r a t o r g r i d a p e r t u r e s w e r e
f o u n d t o be e n l a r g e d b y a n a v e r a g e o f 2 p e r c e n t ( s i g n i f i c a n t l y b e l o w t h a t
o b s e r v e d i n t h e HRL t e s t 2 6 ) . C h a r g e e x c h a n g e i o n e r o s i o n o f t h e
downstream s i d e o f t h e a c c e l e r a t o r g r i d o c c u r r e d a r o u n d e a c h a c c e l e r a t o r
g r i d h o l e . The a c c e l e r a t o r g r i d was e r o d e d e n t i r e l y t h r o u g h a t t h e c h a r g e
exchange " p i t " s i t e s , f r o m t h e c e n t e r o f t h e g r i d o u t t o h a l f r a d i u s . B o t h
t h r u s t e r and f a c i l i t y produced c h a r g e exchange i o n s a r e b e l i e v e d
r e s p o n s i b l e . An e s t i m a t e d i n - s p a c e e r o s i o n r a t e l e a d s t o a n a c c e l e r a t o r
g r i d l i f e t i m e o f a b o u t 11,500 h o u r s . 6 0 P u r s u i t o f a c o m p l e t e
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e c h a r g e exchange i o n p r o d u c t i o n and s p u t t e r i n g
processes, i n c l u d i n g t h e e f f e c t s o f f a c i l i t y p r e s s u r e , i s i n p r o g r e s s .
Extended t e s t d a t a a c q u i r e d t o d a t e , h o w e v e r , s t i l l s u p p o r t t h e s e l e c t i o n o f
t w o - g r i d o p t i c s as t h e b a s e l i n e i o n o p t i c s c o n f i g u r a t i o n f o r h i g h power
xenon i o n t h r u s t e r s .

Pobder P r o c e s s o r s

An i o n t h r u s t e r r e q u i r e s a d e d i c a t e d p o w e r p r o c e s s i n g u n i t (PPU). T h i s PPU
i s t h e most m a s s i v e ( o n e t o t w o t i m e s t h e p r o p e l l a n t r e s e r v o i r a n d t h r u s t e r
c o m b i n e d ) , and t h e m o s t e x p e n s i v e ( 6 t o 10 t i m e s a s c o s t l y a s t h e t h r u s t e r )
s y s t e m component .b5 W i t h s t a t e o f t h e a r t e l e c t r o n i c c o m p o n e n t s , t h e PPU
b a s e p l a t e m u s t be m a i n t a i n e d o v e r a n a r r o w t e m p e r a t u r e r a n g e ( t y p i c a l l y
-200C t o +500C) t o e n s u r e r e l i a b l e o p e r a t i o n a n d a d e q u a t e p e r f o r m a n c e .
T h i s r a n g e m u s t be m a i n t a i n e d w h e t h e r t h e PPU i s o f f o r o n . When i t i s on,
t h e b a s e p l a t e must h a n d l e a b o u t 7 p e r c e n t o f t h e i n p u t power f o r
c o n t e m p o r a r y h i g h e r p o w e r ( >1 kW) t h r u s t e r s u b s y s t e m s . The p e r f o r m a n c e
r e q u i r e m e n t s and d e s i g n o f t h e PPU m u s t , t h e r e f o r e , b e c a r e f u l l y s p e c i f i e d .
B e s i d e s t h e u s u a l n e e d f o r h i g h e f f i c i e n c y a n d l o w c o m p o n e n t mass, t h e
i m p a c t o f m i n i m i z i n g PPU p a r t s c o u n t o n s u b s y s t e m c o s t , a n d r e l i a b i l i t y m u s t
be f u l l y considered.

P e r f o r m a n c e - E f f o r t s t o s i m l i f y t h e PPU f o r m e r c u r y i o n t h r u s t e r s y s t e m s
began i n t h e l a t e 1 9 1 0 1 s . 6 6 - 1 9 Many o f t h e t e c h n i q u e s d e v e l o p e d h a v e
p r o v e n u s e f u l i n xenon i o n t h r u s t e r p o w e r electronic^.^^ Reduced t h r u s t e r
r e q u i r e m e n t s , o p e n - l o o p r e g u l a t i o n t e c h n i q u e s , a n d new i n t e g r a t e d c o n t r o l
c i r c u i t s h a v e a l l r e d u c e d PPU p a r t s c o u n t a n d c o m p l e x i t y .

The r e s u l t s o f t h e s e s i m p l i f i c a t i o n s a r e e v i d e n t i n t h e c o m p a r i s o n o f t h e
I A P S , SER7 11, SEPS, a n d XIPS PPU's. T a b l e T I s u m m a r i z e s t h e i r
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t o g e t h e r w i t h e s t i m a t e s f o r b o t h 5 kW a n d 1 0 kW x e n o n
t h r u s t e r PPU's. I n p u t p o w e r l e v e l , p o w e r e f f i c i e n c y , s p e c i f i c mass, a n d
p a r t s c o u n t a r e compared.

Mass - PPU s p e c i f i c mass e s t i m a t e s f o r t h e 5 kW a n d 1 0 kW x e n o n s y s t e m s w e r e

o b t a i n e d f r o m models.73 PPU s p e c i f i c masses a r e p l o t t e d i n F i g u r e 8 a s a
f u n c t i o n o f i n p u t p o w e r l e v e l . F o r t h e 5 a n d 1 0 kW PPU's l i s t e d i n T a b l e
11, t h e power e f f i c i e n c y a n d p a r t s c o u n t e s t i m a t e s a r e b a s e d o n d a t a f o r a 5
kW a r c j e t f u l 1- b r i d g e b r e a d b o a r d p o w e r s u p p l y 7 4 a n d t h e X I PS b r e a d b o a r d
power s u p p l y . * 4

D e s i g n - The a r c j e t PPU i s a v a l i d r e f e r e n c e f o r h i g h p o w e r x e n o n PPU's

b e c a u s e t h e beam s u p p l y f o r t h e l a t t e r c a n u t i l i z e t h e same b a s i c
a r c h i t e c t u r e a s t h a t o f t h e 5 kW a r c j e t s u p p l y . O n l y a s i n g l e p o w e r s t a g e
o f 5 o r 1 0 kW i s assumed i n t h e T a b l e I 1 x e n o n s y s t e m e s t i m a t e s . T h e r e may,
however, b e a d v a n t a g e s t o c o m b i n i n g t w o o r m o r e p o w e r s t a g e s i n o r d e r t o
r e j e c t w a s t e h e a t o v e r a w i d e r a r e a a n d , t h e r e b y , r e d u c e maximum c o m p o n e n t
temperatures.

E f f o r t s a r e p r e s e n t l y u n d e r w a y a t NASA LeRC t o d e t e r m i n e a n o p t i m a l c o n t r o l
p h i l o s o p h y and t o d e s i g n , f a b r i c a t e a n d t e s t b r e a d b o a r d p o w e r e l e c t r o n i c s
f o r 5-10 kW c l a s s l a b o r a t o r y x e n o n i o n t h r u s t e r s . I t i s e x p e c t e d t h a t many
o f t h e p r e v i o u s l y r e p o r t e d power s u p p l y s i m p l i f i c a t i o n s can b e used. It i s
a l s o a n t i c i p a t e d t h a t , f o r t h r u s t e r c o n t r o l , s i m p l e a n a l o g schemes, s u c h a s
t h o s e used i n t h e SERT a n d SERT 1112 s p a c e t e s t s , w i l l p r o v e
s u p e r i o r t o c o m p l e x d i g i t a l c o n t r o l . The i n i t i a l d e s i g n s o f h i g h p o w e r beam
and d i s c h a r g e p o w e r e l e c t r o n i c s w i l l b e b a s e d o n t h e s u c c e s s f u l 5 kW a r c j e t
b r e a d b o a r d s u p p l y . 7 4 T h i s same b a s i c p o w e r c i r c u i t h a s b e e n i n d e e n d e n t l y
s e l e c t e d as a c a n d i d a t e f o r f u r t h e r development i n o t h e r programs 5 5
F o r t h e f i r s t beam s u p p l y b r e a d b o a r d d e s i g n , t h e o u t p u t beam v o l t a g e w i l l b e
p r o p o r t i o n a l t o s o l a r a r r a y i n p u t v o l t a g e u p t o a maximum p r e s e t beam
v o l t a g e . C l o s e d - l o o p v o l t a g e r e g u l a t i o n w i l l o c c u r when t h i s p r e d e t e r m i n e d
beam v c l t a g e i s r e a c h e d . B o t h a beam c u r r e n t l i m i t a n d r e c y c l e f u n c t i o n s
w i l l be i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t h e s u p p l y .

I t may be a d v a n t a g e o u s , f o r c e r t a i n m i s s i o n s , t o e x t r a c t maximum p o w e r f r o m
t h e s o l a r a r r a y s as t h e s o l a r a r r a y power v a r i e s w i t h a r r a y t e m p e r a t u r e ,
i n s o l a t i o n and d e g r a d a t i o n . T h i s f e a t u r e c a n b e a c c o m p l i s h e d i n a s t a b l e
mode when t h e beam s u p p l y i s o p e r a t i n g w i t h beam v o l t a g e p r o p o r t i o n a l t o
i n p u t s o l a r a r r a y v o l t a g e . Beam c u r r e n t c a n b e a d j u s t e d b y c l o s e d
l o o p - c o n t r o l o f t h e d i s c h a r g e c u r r e n t u n t i l t h e maximum a r r a y p o w e r i s
attained. Implementation o f t h i s technique w i l l require t h e a d d i t i o n of a
c o n t r o l c i r c u i t c o m p r i s i n g a b o u t 10 i n t e g r a t e d c i r c u i t s w i t h a s s o c i a t e d
components m o u n t e d on a s m a l l p r i n t e d c i r c u i t ~ a r d . 7 A ~ potential
drawback o f t h i s t e c h n i q u e i s t h a t b o t h t h e t h r u s t and s p e c i f i c i m p u l s e w i l l
v a r y w i t h t h e s o l a r a r r a y p o w e r , s i n c e t h e beam v o l t a g e i s p r o p o r t i o n a l t o
t h e s o l a r a r r a y v o l t a g e . T h e s e v a r y i n g t h r u s t e r p a r a m e t e r s may c o m p l i c a t e
near-Earth m i s s i o n p l a n n i n g , b u t can reduce t h e t i m e spent a t l o w
altitudes. I n a d d i t i o n , a s o l a r a r r a y s i m u l a t o r w i l l be necessary f o r
t e s t i n g . A s i m i l a r maximum p o w e r t r a c k i n g scheme was u s e d i n t h e S k y l a b
power ~ ~ s t e m . 7 7

L i f e t i m e - Over 111,000 h o u r s o f o p e r a t i o n have been a c c u m u l a t e d between

SERT 11, SEPS, IAPS, and XIPS b r e a d b o a r d ( o r h i g h e r l e v e l ) p o w e r
p r o c e s s o r s . T a b l e 111 l i s t s t h e l o n g e s t a n d m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t t e s t s , g i v i n g
t h e t h r u s t e r , t h e i n p u t p o w e r l e v e l , t h e PPU t y p e o r t e s t l o c a t i o n , t h e t e s t
t i m e and e n v i r o n m e n t , a n d a r e f e r e n c e . Two SERT I 1 p o w e r p r o c e s s o r s w e r e
f l o w n , p e r f o r m i n g w i t h o u t p r o b l e m s f o r more t h a n 1 0 y e a r s . The l o n g t e r m
r e l i a b i l i t y o f PPU's i s , t h e r e f o r e , w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d .

7he SERT 11 PPU's o p e r a t e d m e r c u r y i o n t h r u s t e r s w i t h v o l t a g e s a s h i g h a s

+3000 v and -2000 v . The d e s i g n o f h i g h p o w e r f l i g h t PPU's f o r i n e r t g a s
i o n t h r u s t e r s i s s i m p l e r and s h o u l d b e more r e l i a b l e f o r n e a r - E a r t h m i s s i o n s
because: 1) n o t h r o t t l i n g i s r e q u i r e d ; 2 ) fewer power o u t p u t s , hence, p a r t s
a r e necessary w i t h t h e n o n c o n d e n s i b l e i n e r t gas p r o p e l l a n t ; 3) t h e y
i n c o r p o r a t e improved power e l e c t r o n i c s ; 4 ) t h e y o p e r a t e on h i g h e r s o l a r
a r r a y i n p u t voltages; 5) t h e y w i l l produce l o w e r o u t p u t v o l t a g e s .

Thrust Vector Control

T h r u s t v e c t o r c o n t r o l (TVC) i s r e q u i r e d t o accommodate i n i t i a l o f f s e t s o f
t h e t h r u s t v e c t o r due t o a s s e m b l y t o l e r a n c e s a n d t o a c c o m p l i s h r e q u i r e d
t h r u s t v e c t o r changes d u r i n g a m i s s i o n . These l a t t e r changes c o u l d b e a
r e s u l t o f v a r i a t i o n i n t h e number a n d l o c a t i o n o f o p e r a t i n g t h r u s t e r s , i n
t h e l o c a t i o n o f t h e s p a c e c r a f t c e n t e r o f mass, o r i n a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l
r e q u i r e m e n t s . TVC f o r i o n t h r u s t e r s h a s u s u a l l y b e e n a c c o m p l i s h e d w i t h
m e c h a n i c a l g i m b a l s . The ATS-6 c e s i u m t h r u s t e r s e m p l o y e d a c c e l e r a t o r g r i d
d i s p l a c e m e n t t o a c h i e v e TVC b y s t e e r i n g t h e i o n b e a m l e t s f r o m t h e s c r e e n
g r i d holes through t h e a c c e l e r a t o r grid.16 T h i s technique produced 5 3
degrees of m o t i o n i n each o r t h o g o n a l a x i s .

The w o r s t c a s e i n i t i a l g r i d a l i g n m e n t e r r o r f o r SERT I 1 was e s t i m a t e d t o b e

+ 0 . 2 5 d e g r e c s . 1 3 The p o s t u l a t e d t o t a l u n c e r t a i n t y ( d u e t o o t h e r r e a s o n s
-
s u c h as c e n t e r o f mass v a r i a t i o n s ) i n t h e t h r u s t v e c t o r , h o w e v e r , was a b o u t
5 d e g r e e s . 1 3 The s p a c e c r a f t g r a v i t y g r a d i e n t r e s t o r i n g f o r c e s , w h i c h w e r e
used f o r p r i m a r y s p a c e c r a f t a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l , a l l o w e d a maximum m i s a l i g n m e n t
o f t h e f u l l 28 mN t h r u s t v e c t o r o f t h e t h r u s t e r s a t s t a r t u p o f 4 . 0 d e g r e e s
i n o r d e r t o m a i n t a i n a t t i t u d e c o n t r o l . T h e r e f o r e , e a c h t h r u s t e r was m o u n t e d
on a c o n s e r v a t i v e l y d e s i g n e d g i m b a l t o p r o v i d e up t o 2 1 0 d e g r e e s o f t h r u s t
v e c t o r c o r r e c t i o n i n e a c h o f t w o o r t h o g o n a l a x e s . The f l i g h t d a t a i n d i c a t e d
maximum t h r u s t v e c t o r m i s a l i g n m e n t s f r o m a l l s o u r c e s o f 0 . 5 3 d e g r e e i n t h e
r o l l d i r e c t i o n f o r one t h r u s t e r a n d 0 . 2 4 d e g r e e i n t h e p i t c h d i r e c t i o n f o r
t h e o t h e r t h r u s t e r . 1 3 A c c u r a t e yaw m e a s u r e m e n t w e r e n o t o b t a i n a b l e .
Because o f t h e v e r y s m a l l t h r u s t v e c t o r m i s a l i g n m e n t s , t h r u s t v e c t o r
c o r r e c t i o n s b y t h e SERT I 1 g i m b a l s w e r e n e v e r r e q u i r e d d u r i n g t h e p r i m a r y
phases o f t h e e x p e r i m e n t .

T a b l e I V d e s c r i b e s t h e m e c h a n i c a l t h r u s t v e c t o r c o n t r o l systems b u i l t and
d e m o n s t r a t e d i n t h r u s t e r d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m s t o d a t e a n d g i v e s t h e maximum
d e f l e c t i o n a n g l e e a c h p r o v i d e s i n t w o o r t h o g o n a l a x e s . Masses o f m e c h a n i c a l
T V C assemblies f o r p r i m a r y p r o p u l s i o n i o n t h r u s t e r s have been e s t i m a t e d t o
be t h e same a s t h a t b u i l t f o r SEPS, a b o u t 3 4 p e r c e n t o f t h e t h r u s t e r
mass.62 F i g u r e s 9 ( a ) a n d ( b ) a r e p h o t o g r a p h s o f t h e SERT I 1 a n d t h e SEPS
gimbal systems, r e s p e c t i v e l y . Mechanical t h r u s t v e c t o r c o n t r o l i s
c o n s i d e r e d t o be a m a t u r e t e c h n o l o g y f o r f u t u r e m i s s i o n p l a n n i n g .

P r o p e l l a n t S t o r a q e and D i s t r i b u t i o n

F o r SERT 11, IAPS, and SEPS, l i q u i d m e r c u r y p r o p e l l a n t was s t o r e d i n a

s p h e r i c a l t a n k a n d f l o w t o t h e t h r u s t e r s was m a i n t a i n e d b y a p a s s i v e
n i t r o g e n gas blowdown s y s t e m . l ,20,78 The m e r c u r y p r o p e l l a n t t a n k a g e
f r a c t i o n s r a n g e d f r o m 0 . 1 3 f o r I A P S ~ t~ o 0 . 0 2 f o r SEPS.*O

F o r most p r e s e n t l y p l a n n e d m i s s i o n s x e n o n p r o p e l l a n t w i l l b e s t o r e d a t h i g h
( 6 ~ 1 0 ~ - 2 9 x 1 Pa)0 ~ p r e s s u r e s as a compressed gas .26,30934,79-81 Liquid
s t o r a g e o f i n e r t gases a t c r y o g e n i c t e m p e r a t u r e s has a l s o been suggested,
e s p e c i a l l y f o r a r g o n . Z 2 As a g a s , x e n o n t a n k a g e f r a c t i o n s o f 0 . 1 t o 0 . 2
have been e s t i m a t e d . The m e t h o d o l o g y o f r e f e r e n c e 8 0 was u s e d t o c a l c u l a t e
r e l a t i v e p r o p e l l a n t t a n k a g e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s f o r xenon, k r y p t o n , and a r g o n .
I t was f o u n d , a s shown i n T a b l e V , t h a t a t a s t o r a g e p r e s s u r e o f 2 . 0 3 ~ 1 0 ~
Pa ( 2 0 0 a t m o s p h e r e s ) a n d a t e m p e r a t u r e o f 21°C, t a n k a g e f r a c t i o n s f o r
k r y p t o n and a r g o n a r e a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2 t i m e s a n d 5 t i m e s , r e s p e c t i v e l y ,
g r e a t e r t h a n t h a t needed f o r xenon. These i n c r e a s e s m i r r o r d e c r e a s e s i n
c o m p r e s s i b i l i t y and d e n s i t y o f t h e i n e r t gases w i t h d e c r e a s i n g a t o m i c
masseE2 U s i n g t h e t a n k a g e f r a c t i o n s g i v e n i n T a b l e V f o r k r y p t o n and
a r g o n , r e l a t i v e t o x e n o n , t h e mass o f t h e EOTV d e s c r i b e d i n r e f e r e n c e 79
would i n c r e a s e b y 5 o r 17 p e r c e n t i f k r y p t o n o r a r g o n were used,
r e s p e c t i v e l y . Changes n e c e s s a r y t o t h e t a n k a g e s u p p o r t i n g s t r u c t u r e f o r t h e
l i g h t e r gases were n o t c o n s i d e r e d i n t h e s e c a l c u l a t i o n s . A p r o p e l l a n t mass
o f 1041 k g would r e q u i r e s p h e r i c a l t i t a n i u m a l l o y t a n k s o f 0.49, 0.62, o r
0.82m d i a m e t e r f o r x e n o n , k r y p t o n , o r a r g o n , r e s p e c t i v e l y . S t o r a g e
p r e s s u r e s o t h e r t h a n 2 0 0 a t m o s p h e r e s may b e o p t i m a l f o r t h e d i f f e r e n t g a s e s
a n d R o u l d y i e l d somewhat d i f f e r e n t r e s u l t s .

F i g u r e 10 shows one t y p e o f p r o p e l l a n t s t o r a g e a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n s y s t e m f o r
xenon w h i c h has b e e n p r o p o s e d f o r s t a t i o n k e e p i n g 2 6 a n d O T V
a p p l i c a t i o n s .'9 It uses s y s t e m e l e m e n t s w h i c h a r e m o s t l y a v a i l a b l e a s
f l i g h t - q u a l i f i e d , c o m m e r c i a l h a r d w a r e . Two p r o p e l l a n t t a n k s s t o r e x e n o n a s
a gas a t h i g h p r e s s u r e . The p r o p e l l a n t f l o w t o t h e t h r u s t e r s i s c o n t r o l l e d
b y r e d u n d a n t p r e s s u r e r e g u l a t o r s and f l o w impedances a t t h e t h r u s t e r , i n a n
open-loop system. T h i s p r o p e l l a n t f l o w c o n t r o l a p p r o a c h has been
d e m o n s t r a t e d i n e x t e n d e d t e s t s o f l o w power, c y c l i c 2 6 and h i g h power,
c o n t i n u o u s 6 0 xenon i o n t h r u s t e r s .

C r y o g e n i c s t o r a g e of i n e r t gas p r o p e l l a n t s has been c o n s i d e r e d . 2 2 Such

storage r e q u i r e s technologies s i m i l a r t o those developed f o r storage o f
l i q u i d h y d r c g e n and oxygen. I t has been e s t i m a t e d t h a t t h e r a t i o o f
p r o p e l l a n t t a n k a g e mass t o p r o p e l l a n t mass, f o r a r g o n , i s a b o u t e q u a l t o t h e
m a g n i t u d e o f t h e i n v e r s e o f t h e c u b e r o o t o f t h e p r o p e l l a n t mass i n
k i l 0 ~ r a m s . 2 2 Thus, f o r t h e example g i v e n above, t h e t a n k a g e f r a c t i o n f o r
c r y o g e n i c s t o r a g e of 1041 k g of a r g o n w o u l d be e x p e c t e d t o b e n e a r l y 0.10.
C r y o g e n i c t a n k a g e f r a c t i o n s f o r k r y p t o n and xenon a r e r e d u c e d f r o m t h a t o f
a r g o n b y t h e r a t i o s o f t h e l i q u i d d e n ~ i t i e s . ~ 2D i r e c t c o m p a r i s o n s o f
p r o p e l l a n t t a n k a g e mass f r a c t i o n s f o r d i f f e r e n t s t o r a g e c o n c e p t s w o u l d
r e q u i r e s p e c i f i c d e t a i l e d a n a l y s e s and a r e beyond t h e scope o f t h i s p a p e r .

I o n P r o p u l s i o n System E f f l u e n t s

E f f l u e n t s f r o m i o n p r o p u l s i o n systems c o n s i s t o f p a r t i c l e s and f i e l d s . 8 3
The e m i t t e d p a r t i c l e s a r e b o t h c h a r g e d a n d u n c h a r g e d . The c h a r g e d p a r t i c l e s
c o n s i s t o f e n e r g e t i c beam i o n s a n d l o w e n e r g y i o n s a n d e l e c t r o n s , w h i l e t h e
n e u t r a l p a r t i c l e s a r e e i t h e r p r o p e l l a n t atoms o r s p u t t e r e d t h r u s t e r
m a t e r i a l s . The f i e l d s i n c l u d e s t a t i c a n d d y n a m i c m a g n e t i c f i e l d s a n d l o w t o
v e r y h i g h f r e q u e n c y e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c f i e l d s . T h e s e p a r t i c l e s a n d f i e l d s may
i n t e r a c t w i t h o t h e r s p a c e c r a f t systems ( s u c h as s o l a r a r r a y s , s t r u c t u r e s ,
t h e r m a l c o n t r o l s u r f a c e s , and o p t i c a l s e n s o r s ) o r s p a c e c r a f t f u n c t i o n s ( s u c h
as communications, science, and s p a c e c r a f t p o t e n t i a l c o n t r o l ) . Table V I ,
t a k e n f r o m r e f e r e n c e 83, shows t h e p o t e n t i a l i n t e r a c t i o n s r e v i e w e d t h e r e i n .
T h a t p a p e r c o l l a t e d and summarized i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m 76 r e p o r t s d e s c r i b i n g
a n a l y t i c a l and e x p e r i m e n t a l i m p a c t a s s e s s m e n t s o b t a i n e d f r o m g r o u n d a n d
space t e s t s . S i n c e t h e n , a d d i t i o n a l r e s u l t s f r o m g r o u n d t e s t s 1 8 , 8 4 and
f l i g h t t e s t s 2 7 ~ ~ ~ 9have 8 6 become a v a i l a b l e . A r e c e n t s u r v e y 8 7
summarizes communications and e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c i n t e r a c t i o n s o f i o n and o t h e r
t y p e s o f e l e c t r i c p r o p u l s i o n systems w i t h s p a c e c r a f t , as o b s e r v e d i n b o t h
f l i g h t and g r o u n d t e s t s .

S i x f l i g h t s o f i o n t h r u s t e r s o r i o n s o u r c e s u s i n g m e r c u r y , cesium, o r xenon
p r o p e l l a n t s have g e n e r a t e d s u f f i c i e n t d e t a i l t o a s s e s s t h e i m p a c t s o f t h e
v a r i o u s i o n t h r u s t e r e f f l u e n t s on t h e i r h o s t ~ ~ a c e c r a f t . 8 3 1 8 7The r e s u l t s
agreed, f o r t h e most p a r t , w i t h t h o s e o f g r o u n d t e s t s and v e r i f i e d models o f
t h e m a j o r e f f l u e n t p r o d u c t i o n and t r a n s p o r t p r o c e s s e s t h a t have been
identified.

The e f f e c t s o f t h e p r o p e l l a n t s e l e c t e d f o r i o n p r o p u l s i o n on s p a c e c r a f t f o r
deep space m i s s i o n s and on t h e i r s c i e n t i f i c o b s e r v a t i o n s have been
addressed .** T h i s o v e r v i e w o f t h r u s t e r / s p a c e c r a f t i n t e r a c t i o n s i n c l u d e s
b o t h e x p e r i m e n t a l and a n a l y t i c a l e v a l u a t i o n s and seeks t o a s s i s t i n d e f i n i n g
c r i t e r i a , beyond p r o p u l s i o n s y s t e m p e r f o r m a n c e , f o r p r o p e l l a n t s e l e c t i o n .

I n summary, no n e g a t i v e e f f e c t s o f i o n p r o p u l s i o n s y s t e m o p e r a t i o n on
s p a c e c r a f t i n s u b o r b i t a l , 1000 km p o l a r o r b i t a l o r geosynchronous f l i g h t s
have been observed when d e t a i l e d p r e f l i g h t s y s t e m i n t e g r a t i o n t e s t s have
been conducted. T h i s i s u n d e r s t a n d a b l e because, as compared w i t h o t h e r
types of p r o p u l s i o n , t h e r e i s l e s s p a r t i c l e e f f l u x f r o m l o w t h r u s t , h i g h
s p e c i f i c i m p u l s e i o n t h r u s t e r s and n e a r l y a l l o f i t i s d i r e c t l y e x p e l l e d i n
straight line trajectories. I o n p r o p u l s i o n a l s o a l l o w s t h e use o f b e n i g n
p r o p e l l a n t s and p r o v i d e s t h e added b e n e f i t o f s p a c e c r a f t p o t e n t i a l c o n t r o l .
I n a d d i t i o n , t h e l a r g e d a t a base on i o n t h r u s t e r / s p a c e c r a f t i n t e r a c t i o n s ,
f r o m b o t h g r o u n d and space e x p e r i m e n t s , p r o v i d e s i o n p r o p u l s i o n / s p a c e c r a f t
integration criteria.

Conclusions

F o r more t h a n 30 y e a r s , NASA has c o n d u c t e d an i o n p r o p u l s i o n p r o g r a m w h i c h

has r e s u l t e d i n s e v e r a l e x p e r i m e n t a l space f l i g h t d e m o n s t r a t i o n s and t h e
development o f many s u p p o r t i n g t e c h n o l o g i e s . T e c h n o l o g i e s a p p r o p r i a t e f o r
geosynchronous s t a t i o n k e e p i n g , E a r t h o r b i t t r a n s f e r m i s s i o n s , and
i n t e r p l a n e t a r y m i s s i o n s have been d e f i n e d and e v a l u a t e d . As a r e s u l t o f t h e
i o n p r o p u l s i o n program, u n i q u e and e x t e n s i v e i n - h o u s e , i n d u s t r i a l , and
academic c a p a b i l i t i e s have been d e v e l o p e d .

The s t a t u s o f s e v e r a l n a t i o n a l i o n p r o p u l s i o n programs and c r i t i c a l i o n

p r o p u l s i o n system e l e m e n t s was r e v i e w e d i n t h i s p a p e r . I o n t h r u s t e r s f o r
p r i m a r y p r o p u l s i o n have e v o l v e d i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s o v e r t h e p a s t 30 y e a r s ,
and c u r r e n t l y emphasis i s on xenon and k r y p t o n i o n t h r u s t e r s w h i c h c a n
o p e r a t e f r o m 5 t o 1 0 kW. D r i v e n b y l i f e t i m e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , t h e b a s e l i n e
t h r u s t e r s p r e s e n t l y u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t b y NASA LeRC i n c l u d e r i n g - c u s p
magnetic f i e l d plasma c o n t a i n m e n t and d i s h e d , t w o - g r i d i o n o p t i c s .

I o n t h r u s t e r e f f i c i e n c y and s p e c i f i c i m p u l s e v a l u e s a r e i n f l u e n c e d b y
p r o p e l l a n t a t o m i c mass. W i t h xenon, e f f i c i e n c i e s g r e a t e r t h a n 0.7 a t a
s p e c i f i c i m p u l s e o f 4000 seconds a r e a t t a i n a b l e . W i t h l i g h t e r k r y p t o n ,
t h r u s t e r e f f i c i e n c y d r o p s t o 0.6 a t s i m i l a r v a l u e s o f s p e c i f i c i m p u l s e .
When a v a i l a b l e d a t a a r e s c a l e d an e f f i c i e n c y o f 0.7 i s e x p e c t e d a t a
s p e c i f i c i m p u l s e o f a b o u t 5000 seconds. Based on a r e c e n t 900 h o u r t e s t a t
5 . 7 kW, xenon t h r u s t e r l i f e t i m e i s g r e a t e r t h a n 30,000 h o u r s e x c e p t f o r t h a t
o f t h e accelerator g r i d which i s s t r o n g l y influenced by f a c i l i t y e f f e c t s .

Power p r o c e s s o r s f o r m e r c u r y i o n t h r u s t e r s have d e m o n s t r a t e d more t h a n

100,000 h o u r s o f o p e r a t i o n i n g r o u n d t e s t s and 6400 h o u r s i n space,
i n t e r m i t t e n t l y o v e r an e l e v e n y e a r p e r i o d . D r a w i n g on t h i s l o n g h e r i t a g e
and d e m o n s t r a t e d s i m p l i f i c a t i o n s , s p e c i f i c masses o f p o w e r p r o c e s s i n g f o r
5-10 kW c l a s s i n e r t gas i o n t h r u s t e r s w i l l l i k e l y f a l l i n t h e 7-4 kg/kW
r a n g e , r e s p e c t i v e l y , w i t h p a r t s c o u n t on t h e o r d e r o f 500, and power
e f f i c i e n c i e s n e a r 0.94. They s h o u l d have a r e l i a b i l i t y c o m p a r a b l e t o t h o s e
p r e v i o u s l y developed f o r mercury t h r u s t e r s .

I f r e q u i r e d , t h r u s t v e c t o r c o n t r o l may be r e a d i l y i m p l e m e n t e d v i a i n d i v i d u a l
t h r u s t e r gimbaling. This i s a mature technology w i t h proven r e l i a b i l i t y .
I n e r t gas p r o p e l l a n t s a r e g e n e r a l l y s t o r e d as gases a t h i g h p r e s s u r e b u t may
be s t o r e d as l i q u i d s a t c r y o g e n i c t e m p e r a t u r e s . I n t h e gaseous f o r m ,
p r o p e l l a n t t a n k a g e f r a c t i o n s r a n g e f r o m 0 . 1 t o 0 . 2 f o r xenon and a r e h i g h e r
b y f a c t o r s o f a b o u t 2 and 5 f o r k r y p t o n and a r g o n , r e s p e c t i v e l y . T e c h n i q u e s
f o r l o n g - t e r m c r y o g e n i c space s t o r a g e o f t h e s e gases r e q u i r e a d d i t i o n a l
development b u t o f f e r t h e p r o m i s e o f s i g n i f i c a n t l y l o w e r p r o p e l l a n t t a n k a g e
f r a c t i o n s , e s p e c i a l l y as p r o p e l l a n t q u a n t i t i e s a r e i n c r e a s e d .

I o n p r o p u l s i o n s y s t e m i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h s p a c e c r a f t have been e x t e n s i v e l y
i n v e s t i g a t e d . I n - s p a c e and g r o u n d i n t e g r a t i o n t e s t i n g has d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t
i o n p r o p u l s i o n systems can be s u c c e s s f u l l y i n t e g r a t e d w i t h t h e i r h o s t
s p a c e c r a f t . I o n p r o p u l s i o n s y s t e m t e c h n o l o g i e s a r e m a t u r e and can
s i g n i f i c a n t l y enhance a n d / o r e n a b l e a v a r i e t y o f m i s s i o n s i n t h e n a t i o n ' s
space p r o p u l s i o n p r o g r a m .
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76. ( i r u h e r , R . P.: f t S o l a r A r r a y Maximum Power T r a c k i n g w i t h Closed-Loop

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78. Zavesky, R . J., and H u r s t , E. B., " M e c h a n i c a l D e s i g n o f SERT I 1

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79. Hermel, J . , e t a l : "Modular, I o n - P r o p e l l e d , O r b i t T r a n s f e r V e h i c l e . "

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81 B e r g , H . , and B a s s n e r , H . : " P r o p e l l a n t S t o r a g e and Feed S y s t e m f o r t h e

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84. C a r r u t h , M . R . , J r . e d : " E x p e r i m e n t a l and A n a l y t i c a l E v a l u a t i o n o f I o n

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J o u r n a l o f S p a c e c r a f t and R o c k e t s , V o l . 15, J a n u a r y - F e b r u a r y 1978, p p .
27-33.

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O c t o b e r 1988.
 -
TABLE I ION PROPULSION SYSTEM ELEMENTS

THRUST MODULE

THRUSTERS

POWER PROCESSORS (PPU)

PPU THERMAL CONTROL

THRUST VECTOR CONTROL

THRUSTER STRUCTURE
PROPELLANT DISTRIBUTION

JNTERFACE MODULE

PROPELLANT .

PROPELLANT TANKAGE

INTERFACE MODULE STRUCTURE

POWER MANAGEMENT AND THRUST SYSTEM
CONTROL

-
TABLE I1 POWER PROCESSOR CHARACTERISTICS

rPOWER PROCESSOR SERT II SEPS XlPS PROJECTED

[-PROPELLANT I MERCURY MERCURY I MERCURY

rINPUT POWER
LEVEL, kW

POWER EFFICIENCY,
PERCENT

SPECIFIC MASS,

i
APPROXIMATE
PARTS COUNT

REFERENCE 66,70

I DEVELOPMENT YEARS I LATE '60T

 -
TABLE 111 ACCUMULATED POWER PROCESSOR TEST HOURS

/ THRUSTER PPUnEST LOCATION' IESLI

AIR
REFERENCES

SERT I I LERC
TRW
MCDONNELL
POLAR ORBIT #I
POLAR ORBIT #2
HRL
LERC
HRL CONSOLE
TRW 2 INVERTER BB
TRW 3 INVERTER BB
ENG. PROTOTYPE (EP)
FUNCTIONAL MODEL, FM1
FM 2
FM 3
FM 4

HRL

-
TABLE IV MECHANICAL THRUST VECTOR CONTROL DESIGNS

PROGRAM GEOMETRY MOTION

THRUSTER
SERT I1 TWO CONCENTRIC RINGS, 21 00 3.0
FOUR BEARINGS, EACH
TWO LINEAR ACTUATORS AXlS
{SEE FIG. 9aJ

IAPS CROSS PIN &loo

HINGE, EACH
TWO LINEAR AXlS
ACTUATORS

SEPS CROSS PIN d o 0 ONE

HINGE, AXlS
TWO LINEAR k15O ONE
ACTUATORS{SEE FIG 9b) AXlS

INCLUDES INTEGRAL THRUSTER AND PROPELLANT TANK SUPPORT STRUCTURE

23
 -
TABLE V RELATIVE TANKAGE PROPERTIES OF INERT GASES

GAS* TANKAGE MASS TANK RADIUS FOR

FRACTION 1041 kg, m

XENON 0.14 0.49

KRYPTON 0.27 0.62

ARGON 0.75 0.82

b

0 ~(200ATM),2I0C
GAS STORED AT 2 . 0 3 ~ 1Pa

-
TABLE VI POTENTIAL INTERACTION AREAS PRESENTED
IN LITERATURE (REF. 83)

SPACECRAFT SUBSYSTEM ION SY TEM PARTICLE ND FIELD iFFLUX

OR FUNCTION NONPROPELLANT NEUTRAL ION LOW FIELDS
PARTICLES PROPELLANT BEAM ENERGY
PLASMA

SOLAR ARRAYS .
THERMAL CONTROL

OPTICAL SENSORS .
COMMUNICATIONS .
SCIENCE . .
STRUCTURES AND
MATERIALS

POTENTIAL CONTROL .
 ALY,;o dAn POLL ?IELE
RAGhETS (AXIAL -

(RADIAL),-' , ,RAIN GAS II 'j, rACCELERATOR

.=PLENUR \
GRID

SCREEN ':
GRID - :j

CATHODE BAFFLE
.+::
FL \

"l!i? STEEL
. :c . RAGNE1 1

DOLi PIECE - .' F I E L D LINES ,

;-
NEUTRALIZER

(b) SEPS THRUSTER.

FIGURE 4 . - DIVERGENT WGNETIC F I E L D ION THRUSTER.
 THFtISTiR RFFERLNCE
rliflfi:TF?,
CM

G
0
25
35
58
58
/ THRUST LOSS FACTOR
ASSUflED TO BE 0 . 9 5
a 30 60
0
0 50 41
OPEN SYRBO-S DENOTE XENOh 0
SOLID SYflUOLS DENOTE KRYPTON
0 0

< 3 3
10-~ 10-3
T W U S T E F lh?LlT POWER. K W
F A C I L I T Y PRESSURE, P a
FI~IJPE 5 - THRLSi AS A FUYCTlOh OF THRUSTER INPUT POWER FIGURE 7 . - ACCELERATOR I M P I N G E N N T CURRENT AS A FUNCTION
OF F A C I L I T Y PRESSURE (CONSTANT EM CURRENT OF 0 . 7 A,
TWO-GRID 25 CM THRUSTER).

.9 -
i
,
t
? 7

, . . - t h .
RErEPEt,:E

1
CY

, -
L ?C
58
58
TRZUST LOSS FACTOR
A S S U T D TO BC 0 . 9 5
! i 3: 60
THRUSTER
I C 5C 'I 1 PROPELLANT
r- O r i l r S f P ? c , S @EI17TE XEh3Y
0
0 0 ERCURY

I S i L ' SjP;:,S D E h 3 l i KRYPTON

0
a 0 o XENON

- 0 %
nA * A
A

.-
S P E C I F I C IflPULSE, S POYER PROCESSOR INPUT P M R . K U
FIL1':E 6
IWu,SE.
- THRUSTER E F F I C I E N C Y AS A FUNCTION OF S P E C I F I C F16URE 8 . -
POWER PROCESSOR S P E C l F l C M S S AS A FUNCTION
OF INPUT POWER.
 LATCH VALVE
PRESSURE
0 TRANSDUCER XENON
0 NORMLLY CLOSED
SQUIB VALVE
F I L T E R 2 RlCRON
W F I L L AND D R A I N
VALVE
REGULATOR, 1 . 2 x 10'
TO 6 . 9 x 10' Pa
' FLOW I W E D A N C E

FIGURE 1 0 . - PROPELLANT TANKAGE AND D I S T R I B U T I O K SYSTEM

(REF. 26).

,
c-77-4126
(C) S E P S THRUSTER.