History of Electric Propulsion at NASA Glenn Research Center: 1956 to Present

Patterson, Michael J.; Sovey, James S.

doi:10.1061/(asce)as.1943-5525.0000304

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The EP systems are already performing missions in space, thus accumulating invaluable experience and paving the way for the future. In fact, these systems possess a long history that started in 1906 24 , or more realistically, in 1950 25 . The first ever EP flight tests using ablative pulsed plasma thrusters took place in 1964 26 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent progress and perspectives of space electric propulsion systems based on smart nanomaterials

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drastic miniaturization of electronics and ingression of next-generation nanomaterials into space technology have provoked a renaissance in interplanetary flights and near-Earth space exploration using small unmanned satellites and systems. As the next stage, the NASA’s 2015 Nanotechnology Roadmap initiative called for new design paradigms that integrate nanotechnology and conceptually new materials to build advanced, deep-space-capable, adaptive spacecraft. This review examines the cutting edge and discusses the opportunities for integration of nanomaterials into the most advanced types of electric propulsion devices that take advantage of their unique features and boost their efficiency and service life. Finally, we propose a concept of an adaptive thruster.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent progress and perspectives of space electric propulsion systems based on smart nanomaterials

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Testing of the HERMeS TDU-1 thruster was performed in VF-6 at NASA GRC. [50,51]. The VF-6 main chamber is 7.7 m in diameter, 27.6 m long, and is evacuated with 12 internal nude cryo pumps.…”

Section: A Hall Effect Rocket With Magnetic Shielding Tdu-1mentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of the Magnetic Field Topology in the Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding

Kamhawi

Huang

Mikellides

2018

2018 Joint Propulsion Conference

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

NASA's Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) 12.5kW Technology Demonstration Unit-1 (TDU-1) has been the subject of extensive technology maturation in preparation for flight system development. The TDU-1 thruster implements a magnetically shielded field topology and has demonstrated the elimination of the discharge channel erosion as a life limiting mechanism. Extensive wear testing the TDU Hall thrusters has identified the thruster front pole covers as the next life limiting component. This effort aims to explore and investigate alternate magnetic field topologies to assess whether reductions in the front pole cover erosion can be attained while still maintaining very low erosion rates on the discharge channel walls. NASA GRC and JPL have begun a magnetic field topology characterization and optimization study by designing four candidate magnetic field topologies that reduce the effectiveness of the shielding along the discharge channel walls with the intent to also reduce the erosion rates along the front pole covers. Three of the four candidate magnetic field topologies (B1, B2, and B4) have been manufactured and will be subjected to an extensive test campaign that includes performance, plume, and stability characterization. In Phase I test segment, the thruster's oscillation magnitude and laser induced fluorescence measurements were performed for the three candidate topologies. Phase I test results found that the B1 configuration attained lower oscillation levels than the baseline topology (B0). Additionally, laser induced fluorescence measurements along the discharge chamber centerline found that upstream retraction of the thruster's peak magnetic field does result in an upstream shift of the acceleration zone but the magnitude of the shift does not correspond one-to-one to the shift in the location of the peak radial magnetic field magnitude. Phase II test segment will include performing performance, stability, plume, and erosion measurements for the various candidate magnetic field topologies.

show abstract

“…Accordingly, since 2012, NASA has been developing a 14-kW-class 6 Hall thruster electric propulsion string that can serve as the building block for realizing a 40-kW-class SEP capability, in addition to the decades of electric propulsion development and flight programs conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) [4]. The 14-kW Hall thruster electric propulsion string development, led by the NASA GRC and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), began with maturation of the high-power Hall thruster and Power Processing Unit (PPU).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncertainty in Inverted Pendulum Thrust Measurements

Mackey

Haag

Kamhawi

et al. 2018

2018 Joint Propulsion Conference

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An uncertainty analysis of a common configuration of electric propulsion thrust stand is presented. The analysis applies to inverted pendulum thrust stands operating in a null-coil configuration with in-situ calibration. Several sources of bias and precision uncertainty are discussed, propagated, and combined to form conservative estimates of the relative and absolute thrust uncertainties. A case study of the NASA Glenn Research Center Vacuum Facility 6 thrust stand is presented. For the thruster investigated, the uncertainty was estimated to be ±6.9mN over the entire span of thrust. This uncertainty represents a maximum instrument bias introduced by the thrust stand. The paper does not address repeatability of actual thrust measurements, as this is generally beyond the influence of the thrust stand and can be dependent on a large number of factors.

show abstract

History of Electric Propulsion at NASA Glenn Research Center: 1956 to Present

Cited by 14 publications

References 31 publications

Recent progress and perspectives of space electric propulsion systems based on smart nanomaterials

Recent progress and perspectives of space electric propulsion systems based on smart nanomaterials

Optimization of the Magnetic Field Topology in the Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding

Uncertainty in Inverted Pendulum Thrust Measurements

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About