SMART1 Electric Propulsion Operations

Milligan, David; Gestal, D.; Camino, O.; Estublier, Denis; Koppel, Christophe

doi:10.2514/6.2004-3436

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…10 The first spacecraft to use Hall thrusters for primary propulsion outside of Earth's orbit was the ESA's SMART-1 spacecraft. 11 Several trends in electric propulsion in general and Hall thruster technology in particular are requiring that the traditional notion of the Hall thruster as a 1600-s specific impulse device be reexamined. These include, at least, new materials and fabrication technologies, advanced computer simulations, the rapid rise in spacecraft power, and new missions requiring propulsion systems with larger operating envelopes, longer lifetimes, and greater efficiencies.…”

Section: Nomenclaturementioning

confidence: 99%

High-Specific Impulse Hall Thrusters, Part 1: Influence of Current Density and Magnetic Field

Hofer¹,

Jankovsky

Gallimore

2006

Journal of Propulsion and Power

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A laboratory-model Hall thruster with a magnetic circuit designed for high-specific impulse (2000-3000 s) was evaluated to determine how current density and magnetic field affect thruster operation. Results have shown for the first time that a minimum current density and optimum magnetic field shape exist at which efficiency will monotonically increase with specific impulse. At the nominal mass flow rate of 10 mg/s and between discharge voltages of 300 and 1000 V, total specific impulse and total efficiency ranged from 1600 to 3400 s and 51 to 61%, respectively. Comparison with a similar thruster showed how efficiency can be optimized for specific impulse by varying the shape of the magnetic field. Plume divergence decreased from a maximum of 48 deg at 400 V to a minimum of 35 deg at 1000 V, but increased between 300 and 400 V as the likely result of a large increase in discharge current oscillations. The breathing-mode frequency continuously increased with voltage, from 14.5 kHz at 300 V to 22 kHz at 1000 V, in contrast to other Hall thrusters where a sharp decrease of the breathing-mode frequency was found to coincide with increasing electron current and decreasing efficiency. These findings suggest that efficient, high-specific impulse operation was enabled through the regulation of the electron current with the applied magnetic field. . Associate Fellow AIAA. η t = total efficiency θ = azimuthal coordinate direction ∇ z B r = axial gradient of the centerline radial magnetic field

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Section: Nomenclaturementioning

confidence: 99%

High-Specific Impulse Hall Thrusters, Part 1: Influence of Current Density and Magnetic Field

Hofer¹,

Jankovsky

Gallimore

2006

Journal of Propulsion and Power

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“…During this period, the positive returns from flight experiences encouraged companies to continue their efforts. Moreover, two different EP technologies achieved primary propulsion requirements for scientific probes exploring the solar system [9,10] and the Moon surface [11]. In 2009, 100 operating commercial spacecrafts constructed in the United States, Europe and Russia were using electric thrusters mainly for station-keeping missions [12].…”

Section: History Of Ep: More Than One Century Of History Of Effortsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electric propulsion: comparisons between different concepts

Garrigues

Coche

2011

Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion

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Electric propulsion (EP) is nowadays a mature technology used on board space vehicles. In comparison with chemical thrusters, electric thrusters can advantageously accelerate propellant at a high exhaust speed. The corresponding propellant mass saving makes essential the utilization of electric thrusters for low thrust and long duration missions. Different types of EP devices have been developed for covering a large variety of maneuvers and mission requirements. To date, EP appears as a solid candidate for future manned missions. Research and development programs about EP standard technologies and new concepts are still ongoing in Europe, Russia, United States and Japan to fulfil future needs.

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“…Following the successful SMART-1 mission of the European Space Agency (ESA, 2003;Milligan et al, 2005), a growing interest in lunar and outer planetary explorations performed by small and cheap spacecrafts propelled by electric propulsion systems is emerged in the space community. It is a fact that the propulsive efficiency of an electrically driven spacecraft allows to perform planetary exploration with a minimum propellant consumption when compared to traditional chemical propulsion systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%