The Hall thruster is an electric propulsion device used for multiple in-space applications including orbit raising, on-orbit maneuvers, and de-orbit functions. These in-space propulsion functions are currently performed by toxic hydrazine monopropellant or hydrazine derivative/nitrogen tetroxide bi-propellant thrusters. The Hall thruster operates nominally in the 1500 s specific impulse regime....

We introduce a decentralized attitude control strategy that can dramatically reduce the usage of propellant, by taking full advantage of the physical coupling of the tether. Motivated by a controllability analysis, indicating that both array resizing and spin-up are fully controllable by the reaction wheels and the tethermotor, we report the first propellant-free underactuated control results f...

Simulations of the erosion processes for two proposed sets of ion thruster grids for the NEXT project are presented. Structural failure and electron backstreaming due to accel grid erosion are discussed as two possible failure mechanisms of these grid sets. The TAG grid set is shown to outperform the NSTAR grid set both in terms of margin against electron backstreaming and accel grid mass loss ...

This article is devoted to an important problem of calculation of deflected mode of the combustion chamber and the nozzle end of a new liquid-propellant rocket cruise engine. A special attention is given to the methodology of calculation. Three operating modes are considered. The analysis has been conducted in ANSYS software. The methods of conducted research are mathematical modeling, substruc...

Minimum-mass tether designs are developed for a spinning human transport that not only provides artificial gravity, but also the potential for free-return aborts. The investigation reveals that severing the tether can provide a propellant-free boost to return astronauts to Earth in the event of an aborted landing on Mars. Earth–Mars–Earth, Earth–Mars–Venus–Earth, and Earth–Venus–Mars–Earth traj...

Anovelmission concept based on ahybrid low-thrust propulsion system is proposed anddiscussed.A solar electric propulsion thruster is coupled with an auxiliary system providing an inverse square radial thrust. In this way the spacecraft is virtually subjected to a reduced gravitational solar force. The primary purpose of this paper is to quantify the impact of the reduced solar force on the prop...

A phenomenological approach is used to represent the nonlinear viscoelastic behavior of solid propellants. A three dimensional nite strain viscoelastic model, modi ed by a strain softening function that accounts for damage e ects, is considered in the research. Some of the signi cant aspects of high-elongation propellants are incorporated into the constitutive model. The resulting stress-strain...

We are developing a micro solid propellant rocket array thruster for simple attitude control of a 10 kg class micro spacecraft. To improve the contact between the ignition heater and the ignition charge of lead thiocyanate / potassium chlorate (RK), the loading method of RK was improved. Ignition probability increased to 100 % in air and 83 % in vacuum. When the pellet diameter of boron / potas...