| ETS-III Ion Engine Flight Operations In The Extended Mission Period (1998) | |||||||
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Abstract | |||||||
| An ion engine subsystem (IES) with two electron bombardment mercury ion thrusters of 5-cm anode diameter was flight-tested on the Engineering Test Satellite-III (ETS-III) in the extended mission from Sept. 1983 to March 1985, and three tests items were conducted: on/off cyclic test for both thrusters; continuous beam test for Thruster 1; and continuous discharge test for Thruster 2. The data were compared with those in the main mission period from Sept. 1982 to Aug. 1983 to see whether variations in the thruster performance occur. With total operating hours and restart times of 66 hr/47 cycles for the neutralizer, 64 hr/53 cycles for the discharge, 53 hr/45 cycles for the beam on Thruster 1; 357 hr/188 cycles for the neutralizer; 357 hr/188 cycles for the discharge; and 220 hr/172 cycles for the beam on Thruster 2, the function of ion production and extraction were found normal and unchanged. The currents of the main cathode and the neutralizer had scattered values in each operation , but were found to have no tendency to degradation within the scattered range. The operation of the ETS-III was terminated due to using up the hydrazine for its RCS. (Author). This paper was presented at the AIAA/DGLR/JSASS International Electric Propulsion Conference, 18th, held at Alexandria, VA, on 30 Sep - 2 Oct 1985. | |||||||
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