MIT's fully kinetic particle-in-cell Hall thruster simulation is adapted for use on parallel clusters of computers. Significant computational savings are thus realized with a predicted linear speed up efficiency for certain large-scale simulations. The MIT PIC code is further enhanced and updated with the accuracy of the potential solver, in particular, investigated in detail. With parallelizat...

Nonlinear pulse width modulation (PWM) controlled system is considered to achieve control performance of thrustercontrolled spacecraft. The actual PWM controlled motions occur, very closely, around the average model trajectory. Furthermore nonlinear PWM controller design can be directly applied to thruster controlled spacecraft to determine thruster on-time. Sliding mode control for attitude tr...

Charge neutralization of an In-FEEP thruster was demonstrated with three different electron sources by zeroing the floating potential of the thruster and neutralizer system. The three cathodes used in the investigation include a mixed metal thermionic cathode, a carbon nanotube field emission cathode, and a Spindt-type Mo field emission array cathode. The field emission cathodes significantly i...

The current statuses of lifetime test of LaB6 hollow cathode at the Lanzhou Institute of Physics (LIP), China, was described. 5A LaB6 hollow cathode was design for LIPS-200 40mN Xenon ion thruster, and it could be used for LHT-100 80 mN Hall thruster, too. Life test of the discharge and neutralizer modes of LHC-5 hollow cathode were stared in October 2011, and cumulative operation time reached ...

Of primary concern with the integration of Hall thrusters on conventional satellite designs is the possible damaging effect of high-energy exhaust ions impinging upon spacecraft surfaces. This paper reports on measurements of plasma ion energy distributions within the plume of an SPT-100 Hall thruster using a custom-designed molecular beam mass spectrometer. With this instrument ion energy was ...

The FEEP thruster development is carried out by Centrospazio under ESA and ASI funding. This activity aims at two application areas for which FEEP is unique, or presents substantial advantages with respect to other propulsion technologies: drag-free scientific missions and small satellites attitude control and orbit maintenance. Typical thrust ranges involved are 1 to 100 μN for dragfree contro...

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....

Of primary concern with the integration of Hall thrusters on conventional satellite designs is the possible damaging effect of high-energy exhaust ions impinging upon spacecraft surfaces. This paper reports on measurements of plasma ion-energy distributions within the plume of an SPT-100 Hall thruster using a custom-designed molecular beam mass spectrometer. With this instrument ion energy was ...

It is shown analytically that the thrust from a simple plasma thruster (in the absence of a magnetic field) is given by the maximum upstream electron pressure, even if the plasma diverges downstream. Direct thrust measurements of a thruster are then performed using a pendulum thrust balance and a laser displacement sensor. A maximum thrust of about 2 mN is obtained at 700 W for a thruster lengt...

The mechanism of operation of a new thruster concept that utilizes solid-state ionic membranes to convert molecules into ions and transmit them to a surface from which they can be extracted into energetic beamlets thereby producing thrust is described. Results of recent experiments are used to estimate the performance of the thruster and the masses of various components required for it to perfo...