New Low-Power Plasma Thruster for Nanosatellites

Abstract

The CubeSat Ambipolar Thruster is a new, electrodeless, permanent magnet, helicon thruster specifically designed for the constraints of a nanosatellite. The design processes is outlined, indicating expected thrust, Isp, and efficiency of ∼ 1 mN, ∼ 1000 s, and 20%, respectively. The major components of the thruster-quartz plasma liner, helical half-twist antenna, permanent magnets, and Faraday shield-are described. Finite element magnetic field simulations were compared to magnetometer measurements of the prototype device and showed agreement to within 5%. Initial testing on xenon demonstrated ignition at < 50 W. The electrodeless design enables the use of a wide variety of propellants and a discussion of iodine's potential as a propellant is included.

Recommended Practice for Use of Emissive Probes in Electric Propulsion Testing

“…Double layers can be formed with currents, but current-free double layers (CFDLs) have gained attention lately for application in helicon plasma thrusters [111,112]. Helicon plasma thrusters are a class of electric propulsion under development by a number of groups that uses radio frequency helicon waves to heat electrons, which ionize the propellant [95,[113][114][115]. That plasma expands out of the thruster through a diverging magnetic field, which functions in a similar way to a conventional rocket nozzle.…”

Correction: The Impact of Non-Idealities on Low Power Magnetic Nozzle Thrust Performance

“…II. Introduction P magnetic nozzles are a form of electric propulsion where thrust is generated by converting thermal energy into directed kinetic energy via a convergent-divergent nozzle [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. The converging-diverging magnetic nozzle topography is imposed by an external series of permanent magnets or electromagnets.…”

Mission Analysis for CubeSats with Micropropulsion

“…Figure 1 shows the expected range of thrust and specific impulse of the different propulsion system types. Table 1 [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] shows properties of representative thrusters of each type. Bold font indicates thrusters selected for trajectory simulations.…”