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Power Electronics Development for the SPT-100 ThrusterRussian electric propulsion technologies have recently become available on the world market. Of significant interest is the Stationary Plasma Thruster (SPT) which has a significant flight heritage in the former Soviet space program. The SPT has performance levels of up to 1600 seconds of specific impulse at a thrust efficiency of 0.50. Studies have shown that this level of performance is well suited for stationkeeping applications, and the SPT-100, with a 1.35 kW input power level, is presently being evaluated for use on Western commercial satellites. Under a program sponsored by the Innovative Science and Technology Division of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, a team of U.S. electric propulsion specialists observed the operation of the SPT-100 in Russia. Under this same program, power electronics were developed to operate the SPT-100 to characterize thruster performance and operation in the U.S. The power electronics consisted of a discharge, cathode heater, and pulse igniter power supplies to operate the thruster with manual flow control. A Russian designed matching network was incorporated in the discharge supply to ensure proper operation with the thruster. The cathode heater power supply and igniter were derived from ongoing development projects. No attempts were made to augment thruster electromagnet current in this effort. The power electronics successfully started and operated the SPT-100 thruster in performance tests at NASA Lewis, with minimal oscillations in the discharge current. The efficiency of the main discharge supply was measured at 0.92, and straightforward modifications were identified which could increase the efficiency to 0.94.
Document ID
19940020707
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Hamley, John A.
(NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Hill, Gerald M.
(NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Sankovic, John M.
(NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
February 1, 1994
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Report/Patent Number
IEPEC-93-044
NAS 1.15:106488
NASA-TM-106488
E-8475
Meeting Information
Meeting: International Electric Propulsion Conference
Location: Seattle, WA
Country: United States
Start Date: September 13, 1993
End Date: September 16, 1993
Sponsors: AIAA, AIDAA, DGLA and JSASS
Accession Number
94N25189
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 506-42-31
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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