Development of an Atomic Oxygen Source for Space Simulation Applications

Hohman, Kurt; Olson, Lynn; Brogan, T.R.; Prebola, John L.; Stuckey, J.

doi:10.2514/6.2008-461

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…There are several types of atomic oxygen sources that are described in literature, each with their own inherent advantages and disadvantages. These sources can be broadly divided into thermal and hyperthermal categories, of which numerous techniques have been developed and tested [6][7][8][9][10][11] .…”

Section: A Magnetically-filtered Oxygen Plasma Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

Drag Measurements in a Simulated Low-Earth Orbit Environment

Maldonado

Ketsdever

2015

53rd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting

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An overview of the development of a magnetically filtered atomic oxygen plasma source and the application of the source to study low-Earth orbit drag on different geometries is presented. Plasma diagnostics show that the magnetic filter plasma source produces atomic oxygen ions (O + ) with streaming energies equivalent to the relative orbital environment of approximately 5eV and can supply the appropriate density for LEO simulation. Previous research has demonstrated that momentum transfer between ions and metal surfaces is equivalent to the momentum transfer expected for neutral molecules with similar energy, due to charge exchange occurring prior to momentum transfer. Total drag measurements of aluminum cuboid geometries of varying length to diameter ratios immersed in the extracted plasma plume are presented as a function of streaming ion energy. The plasma source can be operated at a variety of discharge currents and gas flow rates, of which the plasma parameters downstream of the source are dependent. The characteristics of the generated plasma were examined as a function of these operating parameters to optimize the production of O + ions with energy relevant to LEO applications, where the ram energy of the ions due to the motion of the satellite relative to the LEO plasma is high (e.g. 7800 m/s, which corresponds to approximately 5 eV of kinetic energy for O+ ions). The plasma downstream of the source consists of streaming ions with energy of approximately 5 eV and ion species fraction that is approximately 90% O + . NomenclatureA ref = cross-sectional area a drag = acceleration due to drag AO = atomic oxygen B = magnetic field strength C D = coefficient of drag ChAOSS = Chamber for Atmospheric and Orbital Space Simulation d = separation distance E = energy e = elementary charge eV = electron volt F D = total drag force LEO = low Earth orbit MFOPS = magnetically filtered oxygen plasma source m = mass nNTS = nano-Newton thrust stand n p = particle number density ρ = density z = charge state RPA = retarding potential analyzer RGA = residual gas analyzer

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Section: A Magnetically-filtered Oxygen Plasma Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

Drag Measurements in a Simulated Low-Earth Orbit Environment

Maldonado

Ketsdever

2015

53rd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting

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“…Samples of each material on the wake and three-tiered sample panels were exposed to a complex environment during the flight. Identical witness samples were also exposed to a simulated subset of the environment in the Characterization of Combined Orbital Surface Effects (CCOSE) space environment test chamber at the USAF Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) to mimic the space exposure profile [3][4][5]. The primary optical characterization methods employed for the comparison were UV/VIS/NIR and FTIR transmission of the sapphire and quartz and UV/VIS/NIR reflectance of the polyimide and polyester.…”

Section: A Sample Selection For Materials Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Charge-Enhanced Contamination and Environmental Degradation of MISSE-6 SUSpECS Materials

Dennison

Evans

Fullmer

et al. 2012

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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The effects of prolonged exposure to the LEO space environment and charge-enhanced contamination on optical, thermal, and electron emission and transport properties of common spacecraft materials have been investigated by comparing pre-and post-flight characterization measurements. The State of Utah Space Environment and Contamination Study (SUSpECS) deployed in March 2008 on board the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE-6) payload, was exposed for ~18 months on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS), and was retrieved in September 2009. A total of 165 samples were mounted on three separate SUSpECS panels on the ram and wake sides on the ISS. Some samples, particularly those exposed to atomic oxygen in the ram direction, showed pronounced effects due to exposure. Biased samples for the charge-enhanced contamination study showed subtle variations in visible and infrared reflectivity.

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A review of air-breathing electric propulsion: from mission studies to technology verification

2022

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Air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) allows for lowering the altitude of spacecraft operations below 250 km, in the so-called Very Low Earth Orbits (VLEOs). Operations in VLEOs will give radical advantages in terms of orbit accessibility, payload performance, protection from radiations, and end-of-life disposal. ABEP combines an intake to collect the residual atmosphere in front of the spacecraft and an electric thruster to ionize and accelerate the atmospheric particles. Such residual gas can be exploited as a renewable resource not only to keep the spacecraft on a VLEO, but also to remove the main limiting factor of spacecraft lifetime, i.e., the amount of stored propellant. Several realizations of the ABEP concept have been proposed, but the few end-to-end experimental campaigns highlighted the need to improve the concept functional design and the representativeness of simulated atmospheric flows. The difficulty in recreating the VLEO environment in a laboratory limits the data available to validate scaling laws and modelling efforts. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the main research and development efforts on the ABEP technology.

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Development of an Atomic Oxygen Source for Space Simulation Applications

Cited by 5 publications

References 6 publications

Drag Measurements in a Simulated Low-Earth Orbit Environment

Drag Measurements in a Simulated Low-Earth Orbit Environment

Charge-Enhanced Contamination and Environmental Degradation of MISSE-6 SUSpECS Materials

A review of air-breathing electric propulsion: from mission studies to technology verification

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