Experimental Investigations on Thermal Arcjet Thruster Development for a Science Mission to the Moon

Paper number

IAC-06-C4.4.03

Author

Ms. Dagmar Bock, Institute of Space Systems, Germany

Coauthor

Mrs. Monika Auweter-Kurtz, Institute of Space Systems, Germany

Coauthor

Mr. Helmut L. Kurtz, Institute of Space Systems, Germany

Coauthor

Prof. Hans-Peter Roeser, University of Stuttgart, Germany

Year

2006

Abstract

The Institute of Space System (IRS), University of Stuttgart, has launched the “Small Satellite Program” in 2002. In this context four different small satellite missions are planned: An Earth sensing satellite (Flying Laptop), a reentry demonstration satellite (CERMIT), a satellite for technology demonstration (PERSEUS) and an all electrical satellite mission to the moon (BW1).
The small satellite for technology demonstration will be the testbed of the on board electric propulsion systems for the BW1 mission, which is under development at present. 
The satellite mission to the moon is divided into four distinct flight phases: Phase one starts in GTO after separation from the launcher and lasts until the spacecraft perigee is raised above the outer van-Allen-belt. Phase two starts from there and ends at the sphere of the moon. Phase three extends to an elliptical capture orbit of about 1400 km altitude above the lunar surface and the insertion of the satellite into a circular polar mission orbit of about 100 km altitude around the moon is the final mission phase.
The propulsion system of BW1 will consist of two different thruster systems: a cluster of minimum four instationary pulsed magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters (I-MPDs) and one thermal arcjet thruster in the 1 kW class using ammonia as propellant. In this configuration the thermal arcjet thruster is the “high thrust” propulsion unit with a thrust level of about 100 mN and will be used during mission phases one – to minimize the time of the satellite inside the van-Allen-belt – and three – due to the higher demand of thrust caused by the fact that the forces by the Earth, the Moon and the Sun nearly cancel out and thus the influence of perturbations on the satellite orbit increases. The I-MPD cluster with a mean expected thrust of about 6 mN will solely be used for propulsion during the other mission phases.
One part of the development of the thermal arcjet thruster is the investigation of the influence of different geometrical nozzle configurations under vacuum conditions on the performance of the thruster. The varied geometrical parameters are contrictor diameter and length as well as the cone angle. This is done to optimize the thruster geometry for this special mission and its demands. All experiments are conducted inside the test facilities at IRS with the laboratory model of the thruster.
  
This paper presents the actual status of the thruster development with a focus on the experiments with nozzle variation and a discussion of the confirmed results.

Abstract document

IAC-06-C4.4.03.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-06-C4.4.03.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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