Magnetically-levitated thrust stand for evaluating 6-component thrust vector of 1-N class onboard propulsion devices

A 10 nN resolution thrust-stand for micro-propulsion devices.

We report on the development of a nano-Newton thrust-stand that can measure up to 100 μN thrust from different types of microthrusters with 10 nN resolution. The compact thrust-stand measures the impingement force of the particles emitted from a microthruster onto a suspended plate of size 45 mm × 45 mm and with a natural frequency over 50 Hz. Using a homodyne (lock-in) readout provides strong ...

Thrust stand for vertically oriented electric propulsion performance evaluation.

A variation of a hanging pendulum thrust stand capable of measuring the performance of an electric thruster operating in the vertical orientation is presented. The vertical orientation of the thruster dictates that the thruster must be horizontally offset from the pendulum pivot arm, necessitating the use of a counterweight system to provide a neutrally stable system. Motion of the pendulum arm...

An Electrostatic Ion-guide and a High-resolution Thrust-stand for Characterization of Micro-propulsion Devices

PPT Thrust Stand

A torsional-type thrust stand has been designed and built to test Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTs) in both single shot and repetitive operatingmodes. Using this stand, momentum per pulse was determined strictly as a function of thrust stand deflection, spring stiffness, and natural frequency. No empirical corrections were required. The accuracy of the method was verified using a swinging impact p...

A μNewton thrust-stand for LISA

The success of the LISA project depends on the ability of the disturbance reduction system to shield the proof masses from all external forces and maintain tight pointing requirements relative to the other two spacecrafts. μN-thrusters are required to compensate for the solar radiation pressure acting on the spacecraft. The force noise from these thrusters must be low enough to not disturb the ...