STSAT-3 Hall Thruster Propulsion System Development

Further Development of a Micro Hall Thruster

The operation and performance characterization of a micro Hall thruster is presented. The thruster is co-axial in design, with a 0.5 mm channel width and 4 mm outer diameter. The magnetic circuit includes a SmCo permanent magnet generating approximately 0.7 T at the exit plane and 1 T in the channel. Operation with a hollow cathode neutralizer is achieved in the 10-40 W power range with an anod...

Development of a Finite Element-Based Hall-Thruster Model

This paper aims to characterize the Hall-thruster plasmadynamics in the framework of multi uidmodel. Effect of the ionization and the recombination has been included in the present model. Based on the experimental data, a third-order polynomial in electron temperature is used to calculate the ionization rate. The neutral dynamics is included only through the neutral continuity equation in the ...

Predicting Hall Thruster Operational Lifetime

Iodine Hall Thruster Propellant Feed System for a CubeSat

THERE has been significant work recently in the development of iodine-fed Hall thrusters for in-space propulsion applications.1 The use of iodine as a propellant provides many advantages over present xenon-gas-fed Hall thruster systems. Iodine is a solid at ambient temperature (no pressurization required) and has no special handling requirements, making it safe for secondary flight opportunitie...

Engineering Model Propellant Feed System Development for an Iodine Hall Thruster Demonstration Mission

CUBESATS are relatively new spacecraft platforms that are typically deployed from a launch vehicle as a secondary payload,1 providing low-cost access to space for a wide range of end-users. These satellites are comprised of building blocks having dimensions of 10x10x10 cm 3 and a mass of 1.33 kg (a 1-U size). While providing low-cost access to space, a major operational limitation is the lack o...