We present the characterization of a miniaturized ionic liquid electrospray thruster for Nanosatellite applications. The thruster investigated features an emitter array of 480 emitter tips per square centimeter and a 1 cubic centimeter propellant tank with an entirely passive propellant supply, and is operated at a power level of < 0.15W. The paper presents energy-, and mass-resolving beam spectroscopy of the packaged thruster system, as well as two independent thrust measurements. This allows to derive thruster performance parameters under realistic firing conditions, including individual thruster e ciency contributions, specific impulse and thrust. Total thruster e ciencies of 36%, specific impulse of ⇠ 760s, including all losses, and thrust of 11 12.5µN are presented, at emission currents of 150µA, for a device of ⇠ 1cm 2. Current emission data without current decay of ⇠ 90h is presented, with a maximum of 172h.

A thrust stand for use with magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters operated at powers up to 250 kW steady state has been built and tested. The stand was based on an inverted pendulum configuration which resulted in large displacements and high resolution. Up to 50 mm of deflection was observed under a force of 5 N. This large range of displacement significantly reduced the effects of facility induced vibrations on thrust measurements. A remotely operated system was provided for in situ calibration of the thrust stand prior to and immediately after data were obtained. Calibrations showed that thrust measurements were linear and repeatable to within a fraction of 1%. Structural distortions of the vacuum facility due to pumpdown were detected with an inclinometer located in the thrust stand base. Slope deviations as small as 10 arcsec could be compensated using a remotely controlled leveling motor. Early problems with magnetically induced tares caused by the thruster discharge current were reduced by rerouting high-current cables to decrease stray fields. Tares due to discharge current were on the order of 26 mN at 3000 A, and those due to an applied field current were 63 mN at 1400 A. The thrust stand was used with a water-cooled, applied field, steady-state MPD device at power levels up to 125 kW. Hot thruster firings as long as 1 h were performed. By precisely maintaining a level thrust stand base, thermal drift was held to about 2% of the full scale reading over this period. The remaining thermal drift could be subtracted from the thrust measurement to further reduce systematic error. Tares caused by the applied magnetic field were similarly removed. By subtracting tabulated discharge current magnetic tares, thrust measurement uncertainty was reduced to approximately 2% of the measured value.

A torsional-type thrust stand has been designed and built to test pulsed plasma thrusters in both single shot and repetitive operating modes. Using this stand, momentum per pulse is determined strictly as a function of thrust stand deflection, spring stiffness, and natural frequency. No empirical corrections are required. The accuracy of the method was verified using a swinging impact pendulum. Momentum transfer data between the thrust stand and the pendulum were consistent to within 1%. Following initial calibrations, the stand was used to test a Lincoln experimental satellite (LES-8/9) thruster. The LES-8/9 system had a mass of approximately 7.5 kg, with a nominal thrust to weight ratio of 8.0×10−6. A total of 34 single shot thruster pulses was individually measured. The average impulse bit per pulse was 266 μN s, which was slightly less than the value of 300 μN s published in previous reports on this device. Repetitive pulse measurements were performed similar to ordinary steady-state thrust measurements. The thruster was operated for 30 min at a repetition rate of 132 pulses/min and yielded an average thrust of 573 μN. Using average thrust, the average impulse bit per pulse was estimated to be 260 μN s, which was in agreement with the single shot data. Zero drift during the repetitive pulse test was found to be approximately 1% of the measured thrust.

We present a fundamentally new approach to laboratory acoustic and seismic wave experimentation that enables full immersion of a physical wave propagation experiment within a virtual numerical environment. Using a recent theory of immersive boundary conditions that relies on measurements made on an inner closed surface of sensors, the output of numerous closely spaced sources around the physical domain is continuously varied in time and space. This allows waves to seamlessly propagate back and forth between both domains, without being affected by reflections at the boundaries between both domains, which enables us to virtually expand the size of the physical laboratory and operate at much lower frequencies than previously possible (sonic frequencies as low as 1 kHz). While immersive boundary conditions have been rigorously tested numerically, here we present the first proof of concept for their physical implementation with experimental results from a one-dimensional sound wave tube. These experiments demonstrate the performance and capabilities of immersive boundary conditions in canceling boundary reflections and accounting for long-range interactions with a virtual domain outside the physical experiment. Moreover, we introduce a unique high-performance acquisition, computation, and control system that will enable the real-time implementation of immersive boundary conditions in three dimensions. The system is capable of extrapolating wave fields recorded on 800 simultaneous inputs to 800 simultaneous outputs, through arbitrarily complex virtual background media with an extremely low total system latency of 200 μs. The laboratory allows studying a variety of long-standing problems and poorly understood aspects of wave physics and imaging. Moreover, such real-time immersive experimentation opens up exciting possibilities for the future of laboratory acoustic and seismic experiments and for fields such as active acoustic cloaking and holography.

The accurate, direct measurement of thrust or impulse is one of the most critical elements of electric thruster characterization, and it is one of the most difficult measurements to make. This paper summarizes recommended practices for the design, calibration, and operation of pendulum thrust stands, which are widely recognized as the best approach for measuring micronewton-to millinewton-level thrust and micronewton-per-second-level impulse bits. The fundamentals of pendulum thrust stand operation are reviewed, along with the implementation of hanging pendulum, inverted pendulum, and torsional balance configurations. The methods of calibration and recommendations for calibration processes are presented. Sources of error are identified, and methods for data processing and uncertainty analysis are discussed. This review is intended to be the first step toward a recommended practices document to help the community produce high-quality thrust measurements.

The Seismic Experiment for Interior Structures (SEIS) was deployed on Mars in November 2018 and began science operations in March 2019. SEIS is the primary instrument of the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission, which was launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The acquisition and control (AC) electronics is a key element of SEIS. The AC acquires the seismic signals of the two sets of seismic sensors with high resolution, stores the data in its local nonvolatile memory for later transmission by the lander, and controls the numerous functions of SEIS. In this article, we present an overview of the AC with its connections to the sensors and to the lander, as well as its functionality. We describe the elements of the acquisition chains and filters, and discuss the performance of the seismic and temperature channels. Furthermore, we outline the safety functions and health monitoring, which are of paramount importance for reliable operation on Mars. In addition, we analyze an artefact affecting the seismic data referred to as the “tick-noise” and provide a method to remove this artefact by post-processing the data.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate In-Space Propulsion Technology office is sponsoring NASA Glenn ResearchCenter to develop a 4 kW-class Hall thruster propulsion system for implementation in NASA science missions. A study was conducted to assess the impact of varying the facility background pressure on the High Voltage Hall Accelerator (HiVHAc) thruster performance and voltage-current characteristics. This present study evaluated the HiVHAc thruster performance in the lowest attainable background pressure condition at NASA GRC Vacuum Facility 5 to best simulate space-like conditions. Additional tests were performed at selected thruster operating conditions to investigate and elucidate the underlying physics that change during thruster operation at elevated facility background pressure. Tests were performed at background pressure conditions that are three and ten times higher than the lowest realized background pressure. Results indicated that the thruster discharge specific impulse and efficiency increased with elevated facility background pressure. The voltage-current profiles indicated a narrower stable operating region with increased background pressure. Experimental observations of the thruster operation indicated that increasing the facility background pressure shifted the ionization and acceleration zones upstream towards the thruster's anode. Future tests of the HiVHAc thruster are planned at background pressure conditions that are expected to be two to three times lower than what was achieved during this test campaign. These tests will not only assess the impact of reduced facility background pressure on thruster performance, voltage-current characteristics, and plume properties; but will also attempt to quantify the magnitude of the ionization and acceleration zones upstream shifting as a function of increased background pressure.

analysis of the discharge current waveforms showed that increasing the vacuum chamber background pressure resulted in a higher discharge current dominant breathing mode frequency. Finally, IVB maps of the TDU-1 thruster indicated that the discharge current became more oscillatory with higher discharge current peak-to-peak and RMS values with increased facility background pressure at lower thruster mass flow rates; thruster operation at higher flow rates resulted in less change to the thruster's IVB characteristics with elevated background pressure.