The effect of alkali metal electrical rocket engines on spacecraft / V.I. Brukhty, V.N. Shutov, A.B. Smirnov [et al.]
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.1367-1374. - Bibliogr.:p.1374-1375 (8 i).

Аннотация: The possibility of electric thruster (ET) usage for spacecraft propulsion system essentially depends upon solving the problem of effects of running ET on spacecraft units serviceability. The problem of alkali metal ET effects on a spacecraft is considered based on results of theoretical and experimental investigations, including space experiments.

Brophy J.
Test-to-failure of a two-grid, 30-cm-dia. ion accelerator system / J. Brophy, J.E. Polk, L.S. Pless
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.1519-1538. - Библиогр.: с. 1526-1527 (12 i.).

Аннотация: To determine the failure mechanism and erosion characteristics of an ion accelerator system due to erosion by charge-exchange ions a test was performed in which a 3-cm diameter, 2-grid ion accelerator system was tested to failure. The erosion rate of the accelerator grid was artificially enchanced by performing this test at a vacuum chamber pressure of 3,5x10 Pa and by operating the engine with an accelerator grid voltage of -500 V. The accelerator system failed when material that was sputter deposited on to the screen grid from the acceletaror grid formed a flake which shorted the greeds together.

Morozov A.
Stationary plasma thruster: development steps and future perspectives / A. Morozov
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.945-949. - Библиогр.: с. 949 (15 i.).

Аннотация: The SPT concept was discovered in 1962. The engineering model was developed in 5 month while the first flight model was developped and integrated in 18 months. The first flight of EOL 1 on METEOR was a success. SPT is now on operational use on many Rassian spacecraft.

Manzella D.
Stationary plasma thruster plume emission / D. Manzella
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.913-923. - Библиогр.: с. 921-922 (32 i.).

Аннотация: The emission spectrum from a xenon plasma produced by a Stationary Plasma Thruster provided by the Ballistic Missile Defence Organization (BMDO) was measured. Approximately 270 individual Xe I, Xe II and Xe III transitions were identified. A total of 250 mW of radiated optical emission was estimated from measurements taken at the thruster exit plane. There was no evidence of erosion products in the emission signature. Ingestion and ionization of background gas at elevated background pressure was detected.

Myers R.
Stationary plasma thruster plume characteristic / R. Myers, D. Manzella
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.893-912. - Библиогр.: с. 900-902 (28 i.).

Аннотация: Stationary plasma thruster are being investigated for application to a variety of near-term missions. This paper presents the results of a preliminary study of the thruster plume characteristics which are needed to assess spacecraft integration requirements. Langmiur probes, planar probes, Faraday cups, and a recording potenial analyzer were used to measure plume properties.

Review of quiaification activities on the neutralizer for the RIT 10 ion thruster / G.F. Girri, A. Cipriani, G. Matticari [et al.]
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.1015-1022. - Bibliogr.:p.1022 (8 i.).

Аннотация: The preparation activities for the first operational mission of an ion propulsion system on board of a European satellite (ARTEMIS), have now reached the fulfilment of qualification programme.

Pencil E.
Preliminary far-field plume sputtering characterization of the stationary plasma thruster (SPT-100) / E. Pencil
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.924-929. - Библиогр.: с. 928-929 (15 i.).

Аннотация: For electric propulsion devices to be considered for use on communication satellites, integration impacts must be examined in detail. Two phenomena of concern associated with highly energetic plumes are contamination via sputtered material from the thruster and sputter erosion of downstream surface. In order to characterize the net effect of both phenomena, an array of witness plates were mounted in several types of holders and were exposed to the SPT-100 thruster plume for 50 hours.

Prediction of electric thruster lifetime / V.I. Baranov, A.I. Vasin, A.A. Kalyaev, V.A. Petrosov
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.934-939. - Библиогр.: с. 939 (3 i.).

Аннотация: The ptrediction of lifetime is effected using the nonlinear regressive dependence of the electric truster accelerating channel wall erosion on time. The original data are results of electric thruster lifetiime tests that lasted up to 4000 hours.

Patterson M.J.
Performance of NASA 30 cm ion thruster / M.J. Patterson, W. Haag, S.A. Hovan
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.990-1014. - Bibliogr.:p.998 (22 i.).

Аннотация: A 30 cm diameter xenon ion thruster is under development at NASA to provide an ion propulsion for missions of national interest, and is being proposed for use on the USAF/TRW Space Surveillance, Tracking and Autunomous Repositioning (SSTAR) platform to validate ion propulsion. The thruster incorporates innovations in design, materials,and fabrication techniques compared to those employed in conventional ion thrusters. Specific development efforts include thruster design optimazations, component life testing and validation, vibration testing, and performance characterizations. Under this test program, the ion thruster will be brought to engineering model development status. This paper discusses the performance and power throttling test data for the NASA 30 cm diameter xenon ion thruster over an input power envelope of 0,7 to 4,9 kW, and corresponding thruster kifetime expectation.

Paganucci F.
Performance of hot cathode MPD thruster / F. Paganucci, M. Andrenucci
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.1050-1059. - Bibliogr.:p.1058 (14 i.).

Аннотация: Experimental activities on pulsed MPD thrusters with an artificial heated cathode are presently underway at CENTROSPAZIO. These activities, initiated in the framework of an ESA ASTP3 programme, were primarily intended to simulate the continuous operation of multi-MW gas fed thrusters more accurately, through laboratory tests in a pulsed (1 ms) qusi-steade regime.

Operating characteristics of a 15-cm-dia. ion engine for small planetary spacecraft
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.1023-1031. - Bibliogr.:p.1031 (12 i.).

Аннотация: A 15-cm diameter, scalded-down version of NASA light-weight 30-cm ion engine is being developed for potential application to very small planetary spacecraft. This engine has an active beam diameter of 150 mm, an outer ground screen diameter of 200 mm, and is 260 mm long. The engine has a mass of approximately 2,4 kg, and may be used as a stand-alone 15-cm engine, or it may in integrated into a segmented configuration to roduce a 30-cm equivalent engine.

Andrenucci M.
MPD thruster diagnostics / M. Andrenucci, F. Paganucci, A. Turco
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.1308-1317. - Bibliogr.:p.1316-1317 (31 i.).

Аннотация: Plasma diagnostics with Langmiur and magnetic probes allow important information to be gathered on MPD thruster behavior, despite their relative semplicity and low cost. Diagnostic activities with these kind of devices have been carried out at CENTROSPAZIO to better characterize the operation of the thrusters developed both with and without cathode heating. A series of measurements to evaluate electron temperature and density, plasma potential and magnetic field at the same configuration as the thruster with cathode heating. An estimation of electron Hall parameter near the electrodes was made on the basis of measured number density and magnetic field. Values exceeding the unity were found both an anode and cathode regions. Some information on current distribution at the electrodes and power deposition in the plasma was also obtained. In particular, it was noted that the energy deposition near the electrodes (especially the cathode) is percentually very marked at low values of current, while at higher current values the energy seems, for the most part, to be dissipated in different plasma region.

Roy Samanta R.I.
Modelling of ion thruster plume contamination / Roy Samanta R.I., D.E. Hastings, N.A. Gatsonis
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.1318-1327. - Bibliogr.:p.1323 (7 i).

Аннотация: While the potential problem of spacecraft contamination by the influents of electric propulsion thrusters have been known for some time, the liminations of ground experiments, and until recently,computational power, have prevented accurate assessments and predictions of spacecraft contamination.

Low thrust ion propulsion:developmet activities at proel technology / G.F. Girri, G. Matticari, G. Noci [et al.]
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.979-999.

Аннотация: In this paper applications and general design criteria of low thrust ion propulsion technologies for small, resource limited satellitesnare adressed.

Ion thruster endurance test using development model thruster for ERS-VI / S. Shimada, K. Satoh, Y. Gotoh [et al.]
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.1488-1499. - Bibliogr.:p.1499 (3 i).

Аннотация: Ion Engine System (IES) for Engineering Test Satellite is under development successfully. ETS-VI is to be launched in the summer of 1994 by H-II booster rocket. IES of ETS- VI will be used for the north-south station keeping of ETS-VI.

Andrenucci M.
Ion beam modeling in FEEP thrusters / M. Andrenucci, A. Ciucci, S. Marcuccio
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.1391-1400. - This work was performed under ESA Contract No.6544/85/NL/PH through the European Space Research and Technology Center. - Bibliogr.:p.1400 (15 i.).

Аннотация: A numerical model of the ion beam associated with the operation of Field Emission Electric Propulsion thrusters is presented. The objective of the study is to develop a computational tool capable of predicting the effects of thruster configuration parameters (geometry, voltage distributiion between the electrodes) on thruster performance (beam divergence, ion exhaust velocity). A two-dimensional, steady model has been adopted.

Flight test results of the RITA experiment on EURECA / H. Bassner, Berg H.-P., R. Kukies, H. Muller
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.950-955.

Аннотация: The EURECA spacecraft has been launched on 31, July 1992 by the Space Shuttle. RITA has been set in operation on 12 August successfully. The thruster gas been operated in cycles with different thrust levels according to the power available from EURECA.

Beattie J.R.
Flight qualification of an 18-mN xenon ion thruster / J.R. Beattie, J.D. Williams, R.R. Robson
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.971-978. - Библиогр.: с. 978 (8 i.).

Аннотация: In this paper, we describe an 18-mN xenon ion propulsion system (XIPS). Thre XIPS consist of a 13-cm-diam thruster, a power processor, and a xenon storage and control unit. The thruster produces 17.8 mN of thrust at a specific impulse of 2585s, with an imput power of about 439 W.

Field emission electric propulsion (FEEP) system study / S. Marcuccio, A. Genovese, M. Andrenucci [et al.]
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.1412-1422. - Bibliogr.:p.1421-1422 (26 i.).

Аннотация: The micronewton thrust range capabilities of Field Emission Electrric Propulsion have recently received considerable attention, in view of application potential of this type of thrusters in high performance disturbance compensation systems. Various planned scientific missions would greatly benefit from the use of FEEP-based dragfree controllers, under both the mass saving and the performance improvement standpoints; among them, the proposed ESA/NASA project SAGITTARIUS acknowledge FEEP as a key mission-enabling technology.

Fabrication of carbon-carbon grids for ion optics / J. Muller, J. Brophy, C. Garner, J. Brophy
// International electric propulsion conference. Proceedings of the 23rd International electric propulsion conference. - Papers IEPC-93-088 THROUGH IPEC 93-176. - [1993]. - Vol. 2. - P.1041-1049. - Bibliogr.:p.1048-1049 (29 i.).

Аннотация: Carbon-carbon ion grid blanks measuring 20 cm on a side and 0,5-1,0 mm in thickness were fabricated from laminated plies of unidirctional carbon-carbon tape. Plate flatness varied by less than +- 0,05 mm. The screen grid panels and the accelerator/decelarator grid panels were formed from six and twelve laminated plies of unidirectional tape, respectively.