Performance Evaluation of the T-40 Low-Power Hall Current Thruster

Impact of Propellant Species on Hall Effect Thruster Electrical Facility Effects

“…It is important to note that the employed MAI cathode was approximately three times larger in terms of maximum emission current and flow rate than the nominal T-40 HET cathode and other cathodes typically coupled to low-power HETs. The impacts of this on HET operation were discussed in previous work [34].…”

“…The nominal operating pressure for this work as measured by the interior ion gauge was 8.9 × 10 −7 torr and 1.1 × 10 −6 torr for krypton and xenon operation, respectively; for the exterior ion gauge, the nominal operating pressure was 1.0 × 10 −6 torr and 1.2 × 10 −6 torr, respectively. It is important to note that these operational pressures are among the lowest published for any HET facility effects evaluation [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]16,17,[20][21][22]34]. All reported pressures are corrected for the employed propellant; the corrected pressure P c is found by relating the indicated pressure P i and the vacuum chamber base pressure P b to a gas-specific correction factor G using the following equation:…”

“…All experiments detailed in this work were performed using the Aerojet Rocketdyne T-40 HEToriginally developed by Space Power, Inc., in collaboration with the Keldysh Research Center and Matra Marconi Space [36]. The T-40 HET is a laboratory-model HETwith a design operational power range of 50-300 W [34,36]. To address the loss mechanisms relevant for low-power HET operation, the T-40 HET leverages design heritage from the Aerojet Rocketdyne 3.4 kW T-140 HET as well as a patented magnetic circuit design [36].…”

“…To address the loss mechanisms relevant for low-power HET operation, the T-40 HET leverages design heritage from the Aerojet Rocketdyne 3.4 kW T-140 HET as well as a patented magnetic circuit design [36]. The performance of the T-40 HET operating with krypton and xenon has been mapped by prior investigations [34]. To be consistent with previous work with xenon propellant, the thruster body was electrically grounded to the vacuum chamber.…”

“…To be consistent with past work with the T-40 HET, a 10 A Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI)-derived lanthanum hexaboride (LaB 6 ) cathode was used for this work [34,37]. The MAI cathode was located at the 12 o'clock position of the thruster.…”