Electrothermal propulsion, wherein the propellant is heated by some electrical process, then expanded through a suitable nozzle 2. Jpl researchers have shown how a new technology called magnetic shielding significantly increases the life of hall thrusters while enabling operating voltages 100 percent higher than previously demonstrated. Advanced solar and nuclear electric propulsion for. The system has accumulated recordbreaking statistics for an onboard propulsion system. Davis, and cesar ocampo this paper captures trajectory analysis of a representative low thrust, high power solar. The electric propulsion and power laboratory eppl supports research and development of spacecraft power and electric propulsion systems. Most of these kinds of spacecraft propulsion systems work by electrically expelling propellant reaction mass at high speed electric thrusters typically use much less propellant than chemical rockets because they have a higher exhaust speed operate. The anticipation of this event is stimu lating the call for improved ion propulsion technologies. Japans hayabusa spacecraft, which launched in 2003 to rendezvous with the asteroid itokawa, used electric propulsion, as did nasas asteroid. Spacecraft powered by typical electric propulsion systems may eject propellant at up to 20 times the speed of conventional chemical systems, delivering a much higher specific impulse, or the amount of thrust obtained for the weight of fuel burned. Electric propulsion an overview sciencedirect topics.
Ion and hall thrusters march 2008 the research described in this publication was carried out at the jet propulsion laboratory, california institute of technology, under a contract with the national aeronautics and space administration. Solar electric propulsion sep refers to the combination of solar cells and electric thrusters to propel a spacecraft through outer space. The second world war and the cold war advanced rocket missile development in modern time. Unlike chemical systems, electric propulsion requires very little mass to accelerate a. The principle of rocket propulsion was known as far back as 360b. Within an electric propulsion system the core component of the electric machine 4 can improve, extend, or even replace the combustion engine as a propulsion source. The solar electric propulsion project has developed solar arrays that are lighter, stronger, more compact, and less expensive than those currently available. This important new book explains the fundamentals of electric propulsion for spacecraft and describes in detail the physics and characteristics of the two major electric thrusters in use today, ion and hall thrusters.
Today, highpower electric propulsion devices are attracted for the next generation spacecraft. Propulsion technologies related specifically to sample return vehicles will be sought under s5. The spacecraft has amassed over 50,000 hours of ion engine table. Fundamentals of electric propulsion wiley online books. Spacecraft for interplanetary electric propulsion missions 10.
Spacecraft electric propulsion an overview article pdf available in journal of propulsion and power 145. The ion auxiliary propulsion system iaps project from 1974 to1983 developed an 8centimeter mercury ion propulsion system ips for satellite station keeping. How electric spacecraft could fly nasa to mars space. Spacecraft nuclear electric propulsion spacecraft, t2n, i sp6700s wet mass 18000 kg c30 reached after spiral out phase 2000kg of fuel used deflection strategies kinetic impactor with ep ep rendezvous land and push for each strategy. This technology has been exploited in a variety of spacecraft by the european space agency, the japanese space agency, indian space research organisation and nasa. The jpl electric propulsion group has won this award 9 out of 10 times since 2004. Electric propulsion systems are termed power limited because the rate at which energy from the external source is supplied to the propellant is limited by the mass available for the power system. Spacecraft electric propulsionan overview journal of. Jahn and others published electric propulsion find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Moog provides components and subsystems for chemical, electric and cold gas propulsion and designs, develops and manufactures complete chemical propulsion systems.
Introducing an all new patented method of spacecraft propulsion that is based on the interaction of motional electric fields against static electric fields. Parameters of the electric propulsion power plant of a small spacecraft for a flight to the minor bodies of the solar system are estimated. An attempt is made to portray the technology in a logical fashion, starting with mission requirements. Tobegin the optimization process, there wasa set of assumptions made to simplify the. Rendezvous missions to minor planets with electrically propelled spacecraft. With literally hundreds of electric thrusters now operating in orbit on communications satellites, and ion and hall thrusters both.
Throughout most of the twentieth century, electric propulsion was considered the technology of the future. Specifically, technology innovations are sought to improve the capability of low to mediumpower electric propulsion systems, including ion, hall, and advanced plasma thrusters. The future of deep space propulsion may soon be radically. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service. Electrically powered spacecraft propulsion wikipedia.
Characterization of space propulsion devices pdf 3. The focus of this solicitation is for next generation propulsion systems and components, including chemical rocket technologies, low costlow mass electric propulsion technologies, and micropropulsion. Utilization of ambient gas as a propellant for low earth orbit electric propulsion pdf. For example, in the concepts of the rangeextender vehicle, the battery electric vehicle bev, or the fuel cell vehicle, the electric motor is defined as the single propulsion source. Propulsion systems for spacecraft are used to accelerate the spacecraft for orbitinsertion, station keeping, or attitude control. This brochure will give you many examples of how it works on a spacecraft, and what challenges it. The 35th international electric propulsion conference, georgia institute of technology, usa october 8 12, 2017 1 model and experimental validation of spacecraftthruster interactions for electric propulsion thrusters plumes iepc2017357 presented at the 35th international electric propulsion conference. Electric propulsion research and development at nasa. Radioisotope electric propulsion missions utilizing a. Electrostatic thrusters kaufman ion engines pdf 11. List of spacecraft with electric propulsion wikipedia.
The use of electrical power enhances the propulsive performances of the ep thrusters compared with conventional chemical thrusters. Sep has a significantly higher specific impulse than normal chemical rockets, thus requiring. The thruster electric field accelerates xenon ions to extremely high veloc ities and expels them to produce the thrust that propels the spacecraft. Model and experimental validation of spacecraftthruster.
This subtopic seeks innovations in propulsion technologies to increase the capabilities of smd spacecraft. In this survey systems compatible with solar electric propulsion and that. An ion thruster or ion drive is a form of electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. Consortium partners include the arianegroup, qinetiq, ohb, crisa airbus defence and space, ast advanced space technologies, mars space and the university of. Solar electric propulsion provides such high fuel economy that it reduces the amount of propellant required onboard vehicles for deepspace missions by as much as 90 percent. The latest development of low power electric propulsion. This includes both cruise engines andor thrusters for attitude and orbit.
In chronological order, spacecrafts are listed equipped with electric space propulsion. Click download or read online button to get fundamentals of electric propulsion book now. Parametric study of an electric propulsion spacecraft for. Electric propulsion sep vehicle to move a mass around cislunar space in the range of 20 to 40 kw power to the electric propulsion ep system. Electric propulsion is a good example of space technology. Princeton university princeton, new jersey 08544 aiaa20043334 nomenclature a vehicle acceleration a beam crosssectional area i. Nowadays, there are hundreds of spacecraft using ep for. In this paper, the lasted development of low power electric propulsion for small and micro satellites is introduced. We are partners of the giesepp consortium which is supported by the european unions horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Electric propulsion and its applications to space missions. Electric propulsion ep is a class of space propulsion which makes use of electrical power to accelerate a propellant by different possible electrical andor magnetic means. Complete spacecraft, power, propulsion, guidance navigation and control, structures, materials and mechanisms, thermal. For the sake of this assessment, small spacecraft are defined to be spacecraft with a mass less than 180 kg. Electric ion space propulsion systems and thrusters.
Testing electric propulsion for spacecraft youtube. These cislunar transfers depart from a selected near rectilinear halo orbit nrho and target other cislunar orbits. Of particular interest are papers relating to a range of electric propulsion technologies including, but not limited to. Electric propulsion for satellites and spacecraft iopscience. Nuclear thermal propulsion systems nuclear thermal propulsion systems were the first nuclear style propulsion system to be analyzed for use in spacecraft. The staff of eppl have been supporting electric propulsion and power system testing for over 40 years. A study and brief research on electric propulsion of. Fundamentals of electric propulsion download ebook pdf. Electric propulsion and its applications to space missions progress. This book provides an insight into the stateoftheart in electric propulsion. The nrho cannot be characterized in the classical twobody dynamics more familiar in the.
Martinezsanchez massachusettsinstituteoftechnology. Integration of electric propulsion systems with spacecraft. Pdf electric propulsion benefits, challenges and readiness for. Technology of the two dominant electric propulsion devices from basic physics through flight hardware is described. The aerospace corporation has done work in the field of electric propulsion for decades and specializes in electric propulsion diagnostics. Giesepp gridded ion engine standardised electric propulsion platform consortium. Electric propulsion and power laboratory glenn research. Statistical analysis of onorbit anomalies and comparative analysis of electric versus chemical propulsion failure rates acta astronautica, vol. Electric propulsion for solar system exploration mit. In the th century solid rocketpowered arrows were used by the chinese military. The electric ion engine that currently propels the dawn mission has a nominal operation power of 2.
This has the result of limiting the thrust of the electric propulsion system for a given spacecraft mass. A brief overview is presented of some key issues concerning the integration of electric propulsion systems onboard spacecraft. The principles of operation and the several types of thrusters that are either operational or in advanced. Flexible spacecraft dynamics, control and guidance is a text. Electrostatic propulsion, wherein the propellant is. Because of the interdependencies between variables, the list of variable to set as independent variable requires though.
The dawn ips consists of three thrusters operating one at a time. However, beyond jupiters orbit, the spacecraft can perform missions to many outer planetary bodies. An electricallypowered spacecraft propulsion system uses electrical, and possibly also magnetic fields, to change the velocity of a spacecraft. State of the art of small spacecraft technology nasa.
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