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NEXIS Reservoir Cathode 2000 Hour Life TestThe current design of the Nuclear Electric Xenon Ion System (NEXIS) employs a reservoir cathode as both the discharge and neutralizer cathode to meet the 10 yr thruster design life. The main difference between a reservoir cathode and a conventional discharge cathode is the source material (barium-containing compound) is contained within a reservoir instead of in an impregnated insert in the hollow tube. However, reservoir cathodes do not have much life test history associated with them. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of using a reservoir cathode as an integral part of the NEXIS ion thruster, a 2000 hr life test was performed. Several proof-of-concept (POC) reservoir cathodes were built early in the NEXIS program to conduct performance testing as well as life tests. One of the POC cathodes was sent to Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) where it was tested for 2000 hrs in a vacuum chamber. The cathode was operated at the NEXIS design point of 25 A discharge current and a xenon flow rate of 5.5 sccm during the 2000 hr test. The cathode performance parameters, including discharge current, discharge voltage, keeper current; keeper voltage, and flow rate were monitored throughout test. Also, the temperature upstream of cathode heater, the temperature downstream of the cathode heater, and the temperature of the orifice plate were monitored throughout the life of the test. The results of the 2000 hr test will be described in this paper. Included in the results will be time history of discharge current, discharge voltage, and flow rate. Also, a time history of the cathode temperature will be provided.
Document ID
20040086537
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Vaughn, Jason
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Schneider, Todd
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Polk, Jay
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Goebel, Dan
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Ohlinger, Wayne
Hill, D. Norm
(Georgia Inst. of Tech. Atlanta, GA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Meeting Information
Meeting: 40th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: July 11, 2004
End Date: July 14, 2004
Sponsors: Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society for Electrical Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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