The Safety and Hazard Process Followed During the Design of a 50kW-class Electric Propulsion Subsystem: PPE

The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) is the first piece of the Artemis Lunar Gateway. This spacecraft will host a 50kW-class state of the art electric propulsion subsystem, consisting of a combination of 6kW and 12kW thrusters, large Xenon tanks, and a refueling interface. The combination of the high degree of new hardware within the propulsion system, the inclusion of PPE within the larger human-rated Artemis Gateway, and the high level of Maxar Space Systems heritage with the LS1300 platform resulted in a unique safety and hazard process for the program. This paper will summarize the process and discuss the identified hazards from the systems safety and hazard tracking which informed the electric propulsion subsystem of the PPE spacecraft.