Hall-effect thruster

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6 kW Hall thruster in operation at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Xenon hall thruster.jpg
6 kW Hall thruster in operation at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

In spacecraft propulsion, a Hall-effect thruster (HET) is a type of ion thruster in which the propellant is accelerated by an electric field. Hall-effect thrusters (based on the discovery by Edwin Hall) are sometimes referred to as Hall thrusters or Hall-current thrusters. Hall-effect thrusters use a magnetic field to limit the electrons' axial motion and then use them to ionize propellant, efficiently accelerate the ions to produce thrust, and neutralize the ions in the plume. The Hall-effect thruster is classed as a moderate specific impulse (1,600 s) space propulsion technology and has benefited from considerable theoretical and experimental research since the 1960s. [1]

Contents

Hall thrusters operate on a variety of propellants, the most common being xenon and krypton. Other propellants of interest include argon, bismuth, iodine, magnesium, zinc and adamantane.

Hall thrusters are able to accelerate their exhaust to speeds between 10 and 80 km/s (1,000–8,000 s specific impulse), with most models operating between 15 and 30 km/s. The thrust produced depends on the power level. Devices operating at 1.35 kW produce about 83 mN of thrust. High-power models have demonstrated up to 5.4 N in the laboratory. [2] Power levels up to 100 kW have been demonstrated for xenon Hall thrusters.

As of 2009, Hall-effect thrusters ranged in input power levels from 1.35 to 10 kilowatts and had exhaust velocities of 10–50 kilometers per second, with thrust of 40–600 millinewtons and efficiency in the range of 45–60 percent. [3] The applications of Hall-effect thrusters include control of the orientation and position of orbiting satellites and use as a main propulsion engine for medium-size robotic space vehicles. [3]

History

Hall thrusters were studied independently in the United States and the Soviet Union. They were first described publicly in the US in the early 1960s. [4] [5] [6] However, the Hall thruster was first developed into an efficient propulsion device in the Soviet Union. In the US, scientists focused on developing gridded ion thrusters.

Soviet designs

Two types of Hall thrusters were developed in the Soviet Union:

Soviet and Russian SPT thrusters Russian stationary plasma thrusters.jpg
Soviet and Russian SPT thrusters

The SPT design was largely the work of A. I. Morozov. [7] [8] The first SPT to operate in space, an SPT-50 aboard a Soviet Meteor spacecraft, was launched December 1971. They were mainly used for satellite stabilization in north–south and in east–west directions. Since then until the late 1990s 118 SPT engines completed their mission and some 50 continued to be operated. Thrust of the first generation of SPT engines, SPT-50 and SPT-60 was 20 and 30 mN respectively. In 1982, the SPT-70 and SPT-100 were introduced, their thrusts being 40 and 83 mN, respectively. In the post-Soviet Russia high-power (a few kilowatts) SPT-140, SPT-160, SPT-200, T-160, and low-power (less than 500 W) SPT-35 were introduced. [9]

Soviet and Russian TAL-type thrusters include the D-38, D-55, D-80, and D-100. [9]

Over 200 Hall thrusters have been flown on Soviet/Russian satellites since the 1980s. No failures have ever occurred in orbit.[ citation needed ]

Non-Soviet designs

Soviet-built thrusters were introduced to the West in 1992 after a team of electric propulsion specialists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Glenn Research Center, and the Air Force Research Laboratory, under the support of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, visited Russian laboratories and experimentally evaluated the SPT-100 (i.e., a 100 mm diameter SPT thruster). Hall thrusters continue to be used on Russian spacecraft and have also flown on European and American spacecraft. Space Systems/Loral, an American commercial satellite manufacturer, now flies Fakel SPT-100's on their GEO communications spacecraft.

Since in the early 1990s, Hall thrusters have been the subject of a large number of research efforts throughout the United States, India, France, Italy, Japan, and Russia (with many smaller efforts scattered in various countries across the globe). Hall thruster research in the US is conducted at several government laboratories, universities and private companies. Government and government funded centers include NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's Glenn Research Center, the Air Force Research Laboratory (Edwards AFB, California), and The Aerospace Corporation. Universities include the US Air Force Institute of Technology, [10] University of Michigan, Stanford University, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Michigan Technological University, and Georgia Tech. In 2023, students at the Olin College of Engineering demonstrated the first undergraduate designed steady-state hall thruster. [11] A considerable amount of development is being conducted in industry, such as IHI Corporation in Japan, Aerojet and Busek in the US, SNECMA in France, LAJP in Ukraine, SITAEL in Italy, and Satrec Initiative in South Korea.

The first use of Hall thrusters on lunar orbit was the European Space Agency (ESA) lunar mission SMART-1 in 2003.

Hall thrusters were first demonstrated on a western satellite on the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) STEX spacecraft, which flew the Russian D-55. The first American Hall thruster to fly in space was the Busek BHT-200 on TacSat-2 technology demonstration spacecraft. The first flight of an American Hall thruster on an operational mission, was the Aerojet BPT-4000, which launched August 2010 on the military Advanced Extremely High Frequency GEO communications satellite. At 4.5 kW, the BPT-4000 is also the highest power Hall thruster ever flown in space. Besides the usual stationkeeping tasks, the BPT-4000 is also providing orbit-raising capability to the spacecraft. The X-37B has been used as a testbed for the Hall thruster for the AEHF satellite series. [12] Several countries worldwide continue efforts to qualify Hall thruster technology for commercial uses. The SpaceX Starlink constellation, the largest satellite constellation in the world, uses Hall-effect thrusters. Starlink initially used krypton gas, but with its V2 satellites swapped to argon due to its cheaper price and widespread availability. [13]

The first deployment of Hall thrusters beyond Earth's sphere of influence was the Psyche spacecraft, launched in 2023 towards the asteroid belt to explore 16 Psyche. [14]

Indian designs

Research in India is carried out by both public and private research institutes and companies.

In 2010, ISRO used Hall-effect ion propulsion thrusters in GSAT-4 carried by GSLV-D3. It had four xenon powered thrusters for north-south station keeping. Two of them were Russian and the other two were Indian. The Indian thrusters were rated at 13mN. However, GSLV-D3 did not make it to orbit.

In 2013, ISRO funded development of another class of electric thruster, the magnetoplasmadynamic thruster. The project subsequently developed a technology demonstrator prototype using argon propellant with a specific impulse of 2500s at a thrust of 25 mN.[ citation needed ]

The following year in 2014, ISRO was pursuing development of 75 mN & 250 mN SPT thrusters to be used in its future high power communication satellites. The 75 mN thrusters were put to use aboard the GSAT-9 communication satellite. [15]

By 2021 development of a 300 mN thruster was complete. Alongside it, RF-powered 10 kW plasma engines and krypton based low power electric propulsion were being pursued. [16] [ better source needed ]

With private firms entering the space domain, Bellatrix Aerospace became the first commercial firm to bring out commercial Hall-effect thrusters. The current[ when? ] model of the thruster uses xenon as fuel. Tests were carried out at the spacecraft propulsion research laboratory in the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. Heaterless cathode technology was used to increase the system's lifespan and redundancy. Bellatrix Aerospace had previously developed the first commercially available microwave electrothermal thruster, for which the company received an order from ISRO. [17] The ARKA-series of HET was launched on PSLV-C55 mission. It was successfully tested on POEM-2. [18]

Principle of operation

The essential working principle of the Hall thruster is that it uses an electrostatic potential to accelerate ions up to high speeds. In a Hall thruster, the attractive negative charge is provided by an electron plasma at the open end of the thruster instead of a grid. A radial magnetic field of about 100–300  G (10–30  mT ) is used to confine the electrons, where the combination of the radial magnetic field and axial electric field cause the electrons to drift in azimuth thus forming the Hall current from which the device gets its name.

Hall thruster. Hall thrusters are largely axially symmetric. This is a cross-section containing that axis. Wfm hall thruster.svg
Hall thruster. Hall thrusters are largely axially symmetric. This is a cross-section containing that axis.

A schematic of a Hall thruster is shown in the adjacent image. An electric potential of between 150 and 800 volts is applied between the anode and cathode.

The central spike forms one pole of an electromagnet and is surrounded by an annular space, and around that is the other pole of the electromagnet, with a radial magnetic field in between.

The propellant, such as xenon gas, is fed through the anode, which has numerous small holes in it to act as a gas distributor. As the neutral xenon atoms diffuse into the channel of the thruster, they are ionized by collisions with circulating high-energy electrons (typically 10–40 eV, or about 10% of the discharge voltage). Most of the xenon atoms are ionized to a net charge of +1, but a noticeable fraction (c. 20%) have +2 net charge.

The xenon ions are then accelerated by the electric field between the anode and the cathode. For discharge voltages of 300 V, the ions reach speeds of around 15 km/s (9.3 mi/s) for a specific impulse of 1,500 s (15 kN·s/kg). Upon exiting, however, the ions pull an equal number of electrons with them, creating a plasma plume with no net charge.

The radial magnetic field is designed to be strong enough to substantially deflect the low-mass electrons, but not the high-mass ions, which have a much larger gyroradius and are hardly impeded. The majority of electrons are thus stuck orbiting in the region of high radial magnetic field near the thruster exit plane, trapped in E×B (axial electric field and radial magnetic field). This orbital rotation of the electrons is a circulating Hall current, and it is from this that the Hall thruster gets its name. Collisions with other particles and walls, as well as plasma instabilities, allow some of the electrons to be freed from the magnetic field, and they drift towards the anode.

About 20–30% of the discharge current is an electron current, which does not produce thrust, thus limiting the energetic efficiency of the thruster; the other 70–80% of the current is in the ions. Because the majority of electrons are trapped in the Hall current, they have a long residence time inside the thruster and are able to ionize almost all of the xenon propellant, allowing mass use of 90–99%. The mass use efficiency of the thruster is thus around 90%, while the discharge current efficiency is around 70%, for a combined thruster efficiency of around 63% (= 90% × 70%). Modern Hall thrusters have achieved efficiencies as high as 75% through advanced designs.

Compared to chemical rockets, the thrust is very small, on the order of 83 mN for a typical thruster operating at 300 V and 1.5 kW. For comparison, the weight of a coin like the U.S. quarter or a 20-cent euro coin is approximately 60 mN. As with all forms of electrically powered spacecraft propulsion, thrust is limited by available power, efficiency, and specific impulse.

However, Hall thrusters operate at the high specific impulses that are typical for electric propulsion. One particular advantage of Hall thrusters, as compared to a gridded ion thruster, is that the generation and acceleration of the ions takes place in a quasi-neutral plasma, so there is no Child-Langmuir charge (space charge) saturated current limitation on the thrust density. This allows much smaller thrusters compared to gridded ion thrusters.

Another advantage is that these thrusters can use a wider variety of propellants supplied to the anode, even oxygen, although something easily ionized is needed at the cathode. [19]

Propellants

Xenon

Xenon has been the typical choice of propellant for many electric propulsion systems, including Hall thrusters. [20] Xenon propellant is used because of its high atomic weight and low ionization potential. Xenon is relatively easy to store, and as a gas at spacecraft operating temperatures does not need to be vaporized before usage, unlike metallic propellants such as bismuth. Xenon's high atomic weight means that the ratio of energy expended for ionization per mass unit is low, leading to a more efficient thruster. [21]

Krypton

Krypton is another choice of propellant for Hall thrusters. Xenon has an ionization potential of 12.1298 eV, while krypton has an ionization potential of 13.996 eV. [22] This means that thrusters utilizing krypton need to expend a slightly higher energy per mole to ionize, which reduces efficiency. Additionally, krypton is a lighter ion, so the unit mass per ionization energy is further reduced compared to xenon. However, xenon can be more than ten times as expensive as krypton per kilogram, making krypton a more economical choice for building out satellite constellations like that of SpaceX's Starlink V1, whose original Hall thrusters were fueled with krypton. [20] [23]

Argon

SpaceX developed a new thruster that used argon as propellant for their Starlink V2 mini. The new thruster had 2.4 times the thrust and 1.5 times the specific impulse as SpaceX's previous thruster that used krypton. [13] Argon is approximately 100 times less expensive than Krypton and 1000 times less expensive than Xenon. [24]

Comparison of noble gasses

Noble gas properties and cost comparison table
GasSymbolat wt (g/mol)ionization potential (eV) [22] unit mass per ionization energyreference price [25] cost / m³ (€)density (g/l)cost / kg (€)relative to cheapest
Xenon Xe131.2912.1310.82425 € / l250005.8944241.601905
Krypton Kr83.79814.005.9863 € / l30003.749800.21359
Argon Ar39.9515.812.527$0.12 / ft³3.971.7842.231
Neon Ne20.1821.640.933€ 504 / m³5040.9002559.88251
Helium He4.00224.590.163$7.21 / m³6.760.178637.8417


Variants

As well as the Soviet SPT and TAL types mentioned above, there are:

Cylindrical Hall thrusters

An Exotrail ExoMG - nano (60 W) Hall Effect Thruster firing in a vacuum chamber Hall Effect Thruster in a vacuum chamber.jpg
An Exotrail ExoMG – nano (60 W) Hall Effect Thruster firing in a vacuum chamber

Although conventional (annular) Hall thrusters are efficient in the kilowatt power regime, they become inefficient when scaled to small sizes. This is due to the difficulties associated with holding the performance scaling parameters constant while decreasing the channel size and increasing the applied magnetic field strength. This led to the design of the cylindrical Hall thruster. The cylindrical Hall thruster can be more readily scaled to smaller sizes due to its nonconventional discharge-chamber geometry and associated magnetic field profile. [26] [27] [28] The cylindrical Hall thruster more readily lends itself to miniaturization and low-power operation than a conventional (annular) Hall thruster. The primary reason for cylindrical Hall thrusters is that it is difficult to achieve a regular Hall thruster that operates over a broad envelope from c.1 kW down to c. 100 W while maintaining an efficiency of 45–55%. [29]

External discharge Hall thruster

Sputtering erosion of discharge channel walls and pole pieces that protect the magnetic circuit causes failure of thruster operation. Therefore, annular and cylindrical Hall thrusters have limited lifetime. Although magnetic shielding has been shown to dramatically reduce discharge channel wall erosion, pole piece erosion is still a concern. [30] As an alternative, an unconventional Hall thruster design called external discharge Hall thruster or external discharge plasma thruster (XPT) has been introduced. [31] [32] [33] The external discharge Hall thruster does not possess any discharge channel walls or pole pieces. Plasma discharge is produced and sustained completely in the open space outside the thruster structure, and thus erosion-free operation is achieved.

Applications

An illustration of the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. The orbit of the Gateway will be maintained with Hall thrusters. GATEWAY (Moon Space Station).jpg
An illustration of the Gateway in orbit around the Moon. The orbit of the Gateway will be maintained with Hall thrusters.

Hall thrusters have been flying in space since December 1971, when the Soviet Union launched an SPT-50 on a Meteor satellite. [34] Over 240 thrusters have flown in space since that time, with a 100% success rate. [35] Hall thrusters are now routinely flown on commercial LEO and GEO communications satellites, where they are used for orbital insertion and stationkeeping.

The first[ failed verification ] Hall thruster to fly on a western satellite was a Russian D-55 built by TsNIIMASH, on the NRO's STEX spacecraft, launched on October 3, 1998. [36]

The solar electric propulsion system of the European Space Agency's SMART-1 spacecraft used a Snecma PPS-1350-G Hall thruster. [37] SMART-1 was a technology demonstration mission that orbited the Moon. This use of the PPS-1350-G, starting on September 28, 2003, was the first use of a Hall thruster outside geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO). Like most Hall thruster propulsion systems used in commercial applications, the Hall thruster on SMART-1 could be throttled over a range of power, specific impulse, and thrust. [38] It has a discharge power range of 0.46–1.19 kW, a specific impulse of 1,100–1,600 s and thrust of 30–70 mN.

Early small satellites of the SpaceX Starlink constellation used krypton-fueled Hall thrusters for position-keeping and deorbiting, [23] while later Starlink satellites used argon-fueled Hall thrusters. [13]

Tiangong space station is fitted with Hall-effect thrusters. Tianhe core module is propelled by both chemical thrusters and four ion thrusters, [39] which are used to adjust and maintain the station's orbit. Hall-effect thrusters are created with crewed mission safety in mind with effort to prevent erosion and damage caused by the accelerated ion particles. A magnetic field and specially designed ceramic shield was created to repel damaging particles and maintain integrity of the thrusters. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the ion drive used on Tiangong has burned continuously for 8,240 hours without a glitch, indicating their suitability for the Chinese space station's designated 15-year lifespan. [40] This is the world's first Hall thruster on a human-rated mission. [41]

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) granted exclusive commercial licensing to Apollo Fusion, led by Mike Cassidy, for its Magnetically Shielded Miniature (MaSMi) Hall thruster technology. [42] In January 2021, Apollo Fusion announced they had secured a contract with York Space Systems for an order of its latest iteration named the "Apollo Constellation Engine". [43]

The NASA mission to the asteroid Psyche utilizes xenon gas Hall thrusters. [44] The electricity comes from the craft's 75 square meter solar panels. [45]

NASA's first Hall thrusters on a human-rated mission will be a combination of 6 kW Hall thrusters provided by Busek and NASA Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) Hall thrusters. They will serve as the primary propulsion on Maxar's Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) for the Lunar Gateway under NASA's Artemis program. [46] The high specific impulse of Hall thrusters will allow for efficient orbit raising and station keep for the Lunar Gateway's polar near-rectilinear halo orbit.

In development

The highest power Hall-effect thruster in development (as of 2021) is the University of Michigan's 100 kW X3 Nested Channel Hall Thruster. The thruster is approximately 80 cm in diameter and weighs 230 kg, and has demonstrated a thrust of 5.4 N. [47]

Other high power thrusters include NASA's 40 kW Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS), meant to propel large-scale science missions and cargo transportation in deep space. [48]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spacecraft propulsion</span> Method used to accelerate spacecraft

Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites. In-space propulsion exclusively deals with propulsion systems used in the vacuum of space and should not be confused with space launch or atmospheric entry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ion thruster</span> Spacecraft engine that generates thrust by generating a jet of ions

An ion thruster, ion drive, or ion engine is a form of electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. An ion thruster creates a cloud of positive ions from a neutral gas by ionizing it to extract some electrons from its atoms. The ions are then accelerated using electricity to create thrust. Ion thrusters are categorized as either electrostatic or electromagnetic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster</span> Form of electrically powered spacecraft propulsion

A magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster (MPDT) is a form of electrically powered spacecraft propulsion which uses the Lorentz force to generate thrust. It is sometimes referred to as Lorentz Force Accelerator (LFA) or MPD arcjet.

A pulsed plasma thruster (PPT), also known as a Pulsed Plasma Rocket (PPR), or as a plasma jet engine (PJE), is a form of electric spacecraft propulsion. PPTs are generally considered the simplest form of electric spacecraft propulsion and were the first form of electric propulsion to be flown in space, having flown on two Soviet probes starting in 1964. PPTs are generally flown on spacecraft with a surplus of electricity from abundantly available solar energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulsed inductive thruster</span>

A pulsed inductive thruster (PIT) is a form of ion thruster, used in spacecraft propulsion. It is a plasma propulsion engine using perpendicular electric and magnetic fields to accelerate a propellant with no electrode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket</span> Electrothermal thruster in development

The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is an electrothermal thruster under development for possible use in spacecraft propulsion. It uses radio waves to ionize and heat an inert propellant, forming a plasma, then a magnetic field to confine and accelerate the expanding plasma, generating thrust. It is a plasma propulsion engine, one of several types of spacecraft electric propulsion systems.

A propellant is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or another motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, the engine that expels the propellant is called a reaction engine. Although technically a propellant is the reaction mass used to create thrust, the term "propellant" is often used to describe a substance which contains both the reaction mass and the fuel that holds the energy used to accelerate the reaction mass. For example, the term "propellant" is often used in chemical rocket design to describe a combined fuel/propellant, although the propellants should not be confused with the fuel that is used by an engine to produce the energy that expels the propellant. Even though the byproducts of substances used as fuel are also often used as a reaction mass to create the thrust, such as with a chemical rocket engine, propellant and fuel are two distinct concepts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gridded ion thruster</span> Space propulsion system

The gridded ion thruster is a common design for ion thrusters, a highly efficient low-thrust spacecraft propulsion method running on electrical power by using high-voltage grid electrodes to accelerate ions with electrostatic forces.

MagBeam is the name given to an ion propulsion system for space travel initially proposed by Professor Robert Winglee of the Earth and Space Sciences Department at the University of Washington for the October 2004 meeting of the NIAC. MagBeam is different from a traditional electrostatic ion thruster in several ways, the primary one being that instead of the fuel and propulsion system being part of the payload craft, they are instead located on a platform held in orbit. It has also been suggested that the technology could be used to reduce the amount of space debris in orbit around Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Power Electric Propulsion</span>

High Power Electric Propulsion (HiPEP) is a variation of ion thruster for use in nuclear electric propulsion applications. It was ground-tested in 2003 by NASA and was intended for use on the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, which was canceled in 2005.

The helicon double-layer thruster is a prototype electric spacecraft propulsion. It was created by Australian scientist Christine Charles, based on a technology invented by Professor Rod Boswell, both of the Australian National University.

The electrodeless plasma thruster is a spacecraft propulsion engine commercialized under the acronym "E-IMPAcT" for "Electrodeless-Ionization Magnetized Ponderomotive Acceleration Thruster". It was created by Gregory Emsellem, based on technology developed by French Atomic Energy Commission scientist Dr Richard Geller and Dr. Terenzio Consoli, for high speed plasma beam production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plasma propulsion engine</span> Type of electric propulsion

A plasma propulsion engine is a type of electric propulsion that generates thrust from a quasi-neutral plasma. This is in contrast with ion thruster engines, which generate thrust through extracting an ion current from the plasma source, which is then accelerated to high velocities using grids/anodes. These exist in many forms. However, in the scientific literature, the term "plasma thruster" sometimes encompasses thrusters usually designated as "ion engines".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spacecraft electric propulsion</span> Type of space propulsion using electrostatic and electromagnetic fields for acceleration

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NEXT (ion thruster)</span> Space propulsion system, a gridded electrostatic ion thruster

The NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) project at Glenn Research Center is a gridded electrostatic ion thruster about three times as powerful as the NSTAR used on Dawn and Deep Space 1 spacecraft. It was used in DART, launched in 2021.

Atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion, or air-breathing electric propulsion, shortly ABEP, is a propulsion technology for spacecraft, which could allow thrust generation in low orbits without the need of on-board propellant, by using residual gases in the atmosphere as propellant. Atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion could make a new class of long-lived, low-orbiting missions feasible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness</span> Space propulsion system, electrostatic gridded ion thruster

The NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness (NSTAR) is a type of spacecraft ion thruster called electrostatic ion thruster. It is a highly efficient low-thrust spacecraft propulsion running on electrical power generated by solar arrays. It uses high-voltage electrodes to accelerate ions with electrostatic forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SPT-100</span>

SPT-100 is a Hall-effect ion thruster, part of the SPT-family of thrusters. SPT stands for Stationary Plasma Thruster. It creates a stream of electrically charged xenon ions accelerated by an electric field and confined by a magnetic field.

Iodine Satellite (iSat) is a technology demonstration satellite of the CubeSat format that will undergo high changes in velocity from a primary propulsion system by using a Hall thruster with iodine as the propellant. It will also change its orbital altitude and demonstrate deorbit capabilities to reduce space junk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direct Fusion Drive</span> Conceptual rocket engine

Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) is a conceptual, low radioactivity, nuclear-fusion rocket engine, designed to produce both thrust and electric power, suitable for interplanetary spacecraft. The concept is based on the Princeton field-reversed configuration reactor, invented in 2002 by Samuel A. Cohen. It is being modeled and experimentally tested at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy facility, as well as modeled and evaluated by Princeton Satellite Systems (PSS). As of 2018, a direct fusion drive project driven by NASA is said to have entered its simulation phase, presented as the second phase of the concept's evolution.

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  27. ↑ Smirnov, A.; Raitses, Y.; Fisch, N. J. "Experimental and theoretical studies of cylindrical Hall thrusters" (PDF). Physics of Plasmas 14, 057106 (2007). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-05-27.
  28. ↑ Polzin, K. A.; Raitses, Y.; Gayoso, J. C.; Fisch, N. J. (25 July 2010). Comparisons in Performance of Electromagnet and Permanent-Magnet Cylindrical Hall-Effect Thrusters. 46th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference. NASA Technical Reports Server. hdl: 2060/20100035731 .
  29. ↑ Polzin, K. A.; Raitses, Y.; Merino, E.; Fisch, N. J. (8 December 2008). Preliminary Results of Performance Measurements on a Cylindrical Hall-Effect Thruster with Magnetic Field Generated by Permanent Magnets. 3rd Spacecraft Propulsion Subcommittee (SPS) meeting/JANNAF Interagency Propulsion Committee. NASA Technical Reports Server. hdl: 2060/20090014067 .
  30. ↑ Goebel, Dan M.; Jorns, Benjamin; Hofer, Richard R.; Mikellides, Ioannis G.; Katz, Ira (2014). "Pole-piece Interactions with the Plasma in a Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster". 50th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference. doi:10.2514/6.2014-3899. ISBN   978-1-62410-303-2.
  31. ↑ Karadag, Burak; Cho, Shinatora; Oshio, Yuya; Hamada, Yushi; Funaki, Ikkoh; Komurasaki, Kimiya (2016). "Preliminary Investigation of an External Discharge Plasma Thruster". 52nd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference. doi:10.2514/6.2016-4951. ISBN   978-1-62410-406-0.
  32. ↑ "Numerical Investigation of an External Discharge Hall Thruster Design Utilizing Plasma-lens Magnetic Field" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-08-14.
  33. ↑ "Low–voltage External Discharge Plasma Thruster and Hollow Cathodes Plasma Plume Diagnostics Utilising Electrostatic Probes and Retarding Potential Analyser". Archived from the original on 2017-08-29.
  34. ↑ Turner, Martin J. L. (2008). Rocket and Spacecraft Propulsion: Principles, Practice and New Developments. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 197. ISBN   978-3-540-69203-4 . Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  35. ↑ Meyer, Mike; et al. (April 2012). "In-space propulsion systems roadmap" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09.
  36. ↑ "National Reconnaissance Office Satellite Successfully Launched" (PDF). Naval Research Laboratory (Press Release). October 3, 1998. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 13, 2011.
  37. ↑ Cornu, Nicolas; Marchandise, Frédéric; Darnon, Franck; Estublier, Denis (2007). PPS®1350 Qualification Demonstration: 10500 hrs on the Ground and 5000 hrs in Flight. 43rd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit. Cincinnati, Ohio. doi:10.2514/6.2007-5197.
  38. ↑ "Ion engine gets SMART-1 to the Moon: Electric Propulsion Subsystem". ESA. August 31, 2006. Archived from the original on January 29, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  39. ↑ Jones, Andrew (28 April 2021). "Three Decades in the Making, China's Space Station Launches This Week". IEEE.
  40. ↑ Chen, Stephen (2 June 2021). "How China's space station could help power astronauts to Mars".
  41. ↑ 张 (Zhang), 保淑 (Baoshu) (2021-06-21). "配置4台霍尔电推进发动机 "天宫"掀起太空动力变革". 中国新闻网 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2021-07-06. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  42. ↑ Foust, Jeff (May 7, 2019). "Apollo Fusion obtains Hall thruster technology from JPL". Spacenews.com . Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  43. ↑ Foust, Jeff (January 27, 2021). "Apollo Fusion wins electric propulsion order from York Space Systems". spacenews.com . Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  44. ↑ "Psyche's Hall Thruster". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  45. ↑ "Up Close With a Solar Panel on Psyche". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  46. ↑ Sands, Kelly (2021-03-30). "We're Fired Up! Gateway's Propulsion System Passes First Test". NASA. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  47. ↑ "X3 – Nested Channel Hall Thruster". Plasmadynamics & Electric Propulsion Laboratory, University of Michigan. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  48. ↑ Daniel A. Herman, Todd A. Tofil, Walter Santiago, Hani Kamhawi, James E. Polk, John S. Snyder, Richard R. Hofer, Frank Q. Picha, Jerry Jackson and May Allen. "Overview of the Development and Mission Application of the Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS)" (PDF). NASA; NASA/TM–2018-219761. 35th International Electric Propulsion Conference. Atlanta, Georgia, October 8–12, 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
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