Abstract:Cathode keeper erosion has been identified as a possible limit to thruster lifetimes. Therefore, it is important to characterize a cathode discharge at various operating conditions in order to identify potential erosion mechanisms. In this investigation the near field plasma environment of a hollow cathode assembly was examined under several operating conditions in the Isp Lab's Xenon Test Facility (XTF) at Michigan Tech. This examination focused on the region within 3 cm of the cathode keeper orifice. In this… Show more
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