An ion source was developed for transporting space debris to the disposal orbit by acting on such objects with an intense ion beam injected from a “service” spacecraft. The ion source differs by weakly diverging ion beam, radio-frequency inductive discharge, and a three-electrode slit ion-extraction system with quasi-Pierce geometry.
This paper presents the idea of space debris removal by the ion beam. The main part of this idea is the ion source on the board of the spacecraft. The ion beam should be narrow, with small half-angle of divergence - about 2°. Angle of divergence means that in there are 95% of ions in this angle. Authors show the concept of the slotted ion optic system. Based on calculation, the construction of the ion optic was designed and tested as part of the laboratory model of the ion source. The results obtained during the experimental testing verified the possibility of using an ion source of such type as an ion injector, which can be installed on board a next-generation spacecraft for the removal of space debris objects.
To develop elements of a system for contact-free transportation of objects in space has now become an urgent task for the contemporary space-related activities. The purpose of work that is presented hereinafter was to conduct ground tests of the ion source, which is a key element of the above-mentioned system, and to compare the obtained experimental data with the mathematical simulation results in order to build a refined physical and mathematical model of the ion source. Such model was built on the basis of the classical problem regarding the motion of charged particles in an electrostatic field. Parameters of the ion source have been determined experimentally for several operating modes using various structural designs of the ion source electrodes. Two types of ion optics were tested—with slit and round apertures. Good correlation between simulation results and experimental data has been demonstrated. The optimum ion source operation modes have been identified to ensure minimum divergence angles for the plasma beam exiting from the ion source, which in its turn maximizes the pulse transmitted to the transported object.
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