NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
In-flight Operation of the Dawn Ion Propulsion System Through Year One of Cruise to CeresThe Dawn mission, part of NASA's Discovery Program, has as its goal the scientific exploration of the two most massive main-belt asteroids, 4 Vesta, and the dwarf planet 1 Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on September 27, 2007 on a Delta-II 7925H-9.5 rocket that placed the 1218-kg spacecraft into an Earth-escape trajectory. On-board the spacecraft is an ion propulsion system (IPS) developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory which will provide an additional delta- V of approximately 11 km/s for the heliocentric transfers to each body and for all orbit transfers including orbit capture/escape and transition to the various science orbits. Deterministic thrusting to Vesta began in December 2007 and concluded with orbit capture at Vesta in July 2011. The transfer to Vesta included a Mars gravity assist flyby in February 2009 that provided an additional delta-V of 2.6 km/s and was the only postlaunch mission delta-V not provided by IPS. During the mission at Vesta the IPS was used for all orbit transfers which included six different near-polar science mapping orbits. Thrusting for departure from Vesta and the start of cruise to Ceres began on July 25, 2012 with escape from Vesta occurring on September 5, 2012. To date the IPS has been operated for approximately 31,000 hours, consumed approximately 300 kg of xenon, and provided a delta-V of approximately 8.3 km/s. IPS performance characteristics are very close to the expected performance based on analysis and testing performed prelaunch. Thrusting for cruise to Ceres will continue until the spring of 2015, with a planned arrival date at Ceres in April 2015. This paper provides an overview of Dawn's mission objectives and the results of Dawn IPS mission operations from Vesta departure through the first year of cruise to Ceres.
Document ID
20150008021
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Garner, Charles E.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Rayman, Marc D.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Brophy, John R.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
May 12, 2015
Publication Date
July 14, 2013
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit
Location: San Jose, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: July 14, 2013
End Date: July 17, 2013
Sponsors: American Society for Engineering Education, American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Hayabusa spacecraft
electric propulsion
Hall thruster
Deep Space 1
spacecraft
European Space Agency's SMART-1 probe
Artemis mission

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available