Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Oct 2000
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000aps..dppdm1001p&link_type=abstract
American Physical Society, 42nd Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics combined with the 10th International Congre
Physics
Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Ion propulsion is entering an age of application in NASA's planetary program as a key technology being demonstrated on Deep Space 1 (DS1). The single ion thruster on DS1 propelled it to an encounter with the asteroid Braille in July 1999 and is now used to provide the Delta-V for a flyby of the comet Borrelly in 2001. It will deliver a total Delta-V of 4.5 km/s to the 486 kg spacecraft in this mission while consuming less than 81 kg of xenon. With this demonstration, ion propulsion is now being considered for a range of future planetary missions. The high specific impulse capability of ion thrusters makes it possible to perform demanding outer planet and sample return missions with smaller, less expensive launch vehicles and shorter trip times. However, the low thrust levels that ion engines provide necessitate long burn times, typically thousands of hours per engine. Many of the potential failure modes that limit ion engine life are driven by plasma-surface interactions. The experimental characterization of wear processes from ground testing and current theoretical understanding of the erosion mechanisms will be discussed in this presentation.
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