Review of Chemical-Electric Multimode Space Propulsion

Rovey, Joshua L.; Lyne, Christopher T.; Mundahl, Alex J.; Rasmont, Nicolas; Glascock, Matthew S.; Wainwright, Mitchell J.; Berg, Steven P.

doi:10.2514/6.2019-4169

Cited by 12 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…Such a multimode propulsion system has the ability to perform high thrust maneuvers such as Hohmann transfers, orbital insertions, and proximity flying using the chemical mode, but then also make high specific impulse burns for electric orbit raising, station keeping and interplanetary cruises [23]. Shared propellant multimode propulsion systems such as this can enjoy an unmatched degree of mission flexibility and adaptability even after launch [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low power thrust measurements of the water electrolysis Hall effect thruster

Schwertheim

Knoll

2021

CEAS Space J

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We propose that a Hall effect thruster could be modified to operate on the products of water electrolysis. Such a thruster would exploit the low cost and high storability of water while producing gaseous hydrogen and oxygen in-situ as they are required. By supplying the anode with oxygen and the cathode with hydrogen, the poisoning of the cathode is mitigated. The water electrolysis Hall effect thruster (WET-HET) has been designed to demonstrate this concept. The dimensions of the WET-HET have been optimized for oxygen operation using PlasmaSim, a zero-dimensional particle in cell code. We present the first direct thrust measurements of the WET-HET. A hanging pendulum style thrust balance is used to measure the thrust of the WET-HET while operating in the Boltzmann vacuum facility within the Imperial Plasma Propulsion Laboratory. For this test the beam was neutralized using a filament plasma bridge neutralizer operating on krypton. We find thrust, specific impulse, and thrust efficiency all increase linearly with power for values between 400 and 1050 W. Increasing the mass flow rate from 0.96 to 1.85 mg/s increases thrust at the expense of specific impulse. Changing mass flow rate was found to have little impact on the thrust efficiency over this range. An optimal radial magnetic flux density of 403 G at the exit plane is found. Further increases to the magnetic field beyond this point were found to decrease the thrust, specific impulse and thrust efficiency, whereas the discharge voltage increased monotonically with increasing magnetic field for a given input power. It was found that the experimental thruster performance was lower than the simulation results from PlasmaSim. However, the general trends in performance as a function of power and propellant mass flow rate were preserved. We attribute a portion of this discrepancy to the inability of the simulation to model the energy absorbed by the covalent bond of the oxygen molecule. For the powers and mass flow rates surveyed we measured thrust ranging from 4.52$$\pm 0.18\,$$ ± 0.18 to 8.45$$\pm 0.18\,$$ ± 0.18 mN, specific impulse between 324$$\pm 12\,$$ ± 12 and 593$$\pm 12\,$$ ± 12 s, and anode thrust efficiencies between 1.34$$\pm 0.10\,$$ ± 0.10 and 2.34$$\pm 0.10\,$$ ± 0.10 %.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low power thrust measurements of the water electrolysis Hall effect thruster

Schwertheim

Knoll

2021

CEAS Space J

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“…An optional vapor auxiliary propulsion for reaction control and attitude control requirements can be integrated. This optional subsystem incorporates a small catalytic bed and lighter weight thrusters compared to the primary monopropellant thruster and shall present a "multimode" propulsion system when incorporated-multimode propulsion is capable of utilizing the same propellant tank for different types of propulsion at the same time [6,40,41]. The catalytic bed shall increase the temperature of the vapor, thus increasing performance, moreover, ensures homogenous exhaust.…”

Section: Mimps-g Conopsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modular Impulsive Green Monopropellant Propulsion System (MIMPS-G): For CubeSats in LEO and to the Moon

2021

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Green propellants are currently considered as enabling technology that is revolutionizing the development of high-performance space propulsion, especially for small-sized spacecraft. Modern space missions, either in LEO or interplanetary, require relatively high-thrust and impulsive capabilities to provide better control on the spacecraft, and to overcome the growing challenges, particularly related to overcrowded LEOs, and to modern space application orbital maneuver requirements. Green monopropellants are gaining momentum in the design and development of small and modular liquid propulsion systems, especially for CubeSats, due to their favorable thermophysical properties and relatively high performance when compared to gaseous propellants, and perhaps simpler management when compared to bipropellants. Accordingly, a novel high-thrust modular impulsive green monopropellant propulsion system with a micro electric pump feed cycle is proposed. MIMPS-G500mN is designed to be capable of delivering 0.5 N thrust and offers theoretical total impulse Itot from 850 to 1350 N s per 1U and >3000 N s per 2U depending on the burnt monopropellant, which makes it a candidate for various LEO satellites as well as future Moon missions. Green monopropellant ASCENT (formerly AF-M315E), as well as HAN and ADN-based alternatives (i.e., HNP225 and LMP-103S) were proposed in the preliminary design and system analysis. The article will present state-of-the-art green monopropellants in the (EIL) Energetic Ionic Liquid class and a trade-off study for proposed propellants. System analysis and design of MIMPS-G500mN will be discussed in detail, and the article will conclude with a market survey on small satellites green monopropellant propulsion systems and commercial off-the-shelf thrusters.

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“…In chemical thruster, the exhaust velocity depends to thermal heating, which cannot reach very high magnitude. In a chemical thruster, the propellant is burned and the hot gas is expelled from the thruster with the help of a nozzle but in plasma thrusters the plasma expels without an explosion taking place [2,3,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. The performances of different types of electric thrusters have been discussed in Table 1.…”

Section: Main Classes Of Electric Thrustersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hollow cathodes are used in Hall thruster to provide electrons (with the help of DC electron-discharge plasma generator) to neutralize the body of the spacecraft (to manage spacecraft charging) as well to sustain the plasma discharge and. The hollow cathode are made up with refractory metal tube and lanthanum hexaboride [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. The cathode operates at 30 V to 40 V negative of the anode in a mercury thruster depending on the design consideration.…”

Section: Anode and Cathodementioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to Plasma Based Propulsion System: Hall Thrusters

Singh¹,

Kumar²,

Meena³

et al. 2021

Propulsion - New Perspectives and Applications

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Technically, there are two types of propulsion systems namely chemical and electric depending on the sources of the fuel. Electrostatic thrusters are used for launching small satellites in low earth orbit which are capable to provide thrust for long time intervals. These thrusters consume less fuel compared to chemical propulsion systems. Therefore for the cost reduction interests, space scientists are interested to develop thrusters based on electric propulsion technology. This chapter is intended to serve as a general overview of the technology of electric propulsion (EP) and its applications. Plasma based electric propulsion technology used for space missions with regard to the spacecraft station keeping, rephrasing and orbit topping applications. Typical thrusters have a lifespan of 10,000 h and produce thrust of 0.1–1 N. These devices have E→×B→ configurations which is used to confine electrons, increasing the electron residence time and allowing more ionization in the channel. Almost 2500 satellites have been launched into orbit till 2020. For example, the ESA SMART-1 mission (Small Mission for Advanced Research in Technology) used a Hall thruster to escape Earth orbit and reach the moon with a small satellite that weighed 367 kg. These satellites carrying small Hall thrusters for orbital corrections in space as thrust is needed to compensate for various ambient forces including atmospheric drag and radiation pressure. The chapter outlines the electric propulsion thruster systems and technologies and their shortcomings. Moreover, the current status of potential research to improve the electric propulsion systems for small satellite has been discussed.

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Review of Chemical-Electric Multimode Space Propulsion

Cited by 12 publications

References 73 publications

Low power thrust measurements of the water electrolysis Hall effect thruster

Low power thrust measurements of the water electrolysis Hall effect thruster

Modular Impulsive Green Monopropellant Propulsion System (MIMPS-G): For CubeSats in LEO and to the Moon

Introduction to Plasma Based Propulsion System: Hall Thrusters

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