High Propellant Throughput Small Spacecraft Electric Propulsion Thruster

NASAs High Propellant Throughput Small Spacecraft Electric Propulsion thruster offers a propellant throughput capability of greater than 120 kg with a nominal thruster efficiency greater than 50%. The new thruster design combines heritage Hall thruster component design approaches with recent NASA GRC advancements in the areas of advanced magnetic circuit design, robust propellant manifolds, and center mounted cathodes. Prototypes of the High Propellant Throughput Small Spacecraft Electric Propulsion thruster have been fabricated and proof-of-concept has been demonstrated. A significant advancement in the High Propellant Throughput Small Spacecraft Electric Propulsion thruster is NASA's optimized magnetically shielded (OMS) field topology. The new OMS configuration reduces discharge channel erosion rates compared to conventional Hall thrusters, while reducing front pole cover erosion rates compared to traditional magnetically shielded Hall thrusters. This system also includes a largely unibody structure to reduce fabrication cost, increase strength, and optimize thermal management. A coupling plate between the high voltage discharge channel and low voltage thruster body allows more efficient thruster assembly and verification processes. Other design advancements further simplify assembly, improve robustness, and optimize performance. Innovators at NASAs Glenn Research Center have developed a suite of small spacecraft electric propulsion (SSEP) technologies critical to enabling new, ambitious missions into deep space. Advanced SSEP technologies are based on the use of exceptionally fuel-efficient electrostatic Hall effect thrusters with optimized magnetic shielding, achieving massive reductions in propellant mass relative to traditional chemical propulsion systems. NASAs low-power, high-throughput SSEP technology dramatically increases the capabilities of small spacecraft while maximizing reliability and reducing launch costs. The High Propellant Throughput Small Spacecraft Electric Propulsion thruster is available for licensing on its own, or as a component of NASAs SSEP suite, which is available to U.S. companies through a no-cost, non-exclusive license agreement and companion Space Act Agreement. Click the <i>LEW-TOPS-162: Small Spacecraft Electric Propulsion (SSEP) Technologies</i> link in the <i>Additional Information</i> section for details.