Downscaling a HEMPT to micro-Newton Thrust levels: current status and latest results

Abstract

Space, Germany Since 2009 Airbus DS Space Systems, Friedrichshafen, has been investigating Electric Propulsion (EP) systems for high precision attitude and position control of spacecrafts. As a start, an experimental measurement campaign to demonstrate the feasibility of down scaling the High Efficiency Multistage Plasma Thruster (HEMPT), developed by Thales at Ulm in Germany, to the micro-Newton thrust level was initiated in close cooperation with university research groups. The HEMPT is potentially an attractive micro-Newton thruster concept because of the unique advantages of the HEMPT principle, e.g. nearly erosion-free operation and simple system and interface design with just one high voltage supply and one mass flow controller. We designed a next generation μHEMPT with a thrust range between 50 μN to 500 μN, a specific inpuls of more than 2000 s, a divergence efficiency of more than 80% and a mass efficiency of around 70% . The proceeding will wrap up the thruster design and key parameters of the thruster and the performed measurements will be summarised