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目前有两项小卫星任务计划使用脉冲等离子体推力器(PPT),并且还打算将它用在第三项小卫星任务上。在这些任务中,将利用脉冲等离子体推力器的独有特性,来完成姿态控制、轨道提升、轨道转移和精确定位等推进机动。由于脉冲等离子体推力器在本质上是一种独立的推进装置,它无需采用有毒的推进系统和/或分布式推进系统,因此它很受小卫星应用的青睐。在很宽的功率范围内,脉冲等离子体推力器也能在低功率下工作而不损失其性能。已启动了一个试验项目,根据电极结构来优化推力器性能作为上述任务所要求的技术开发的组成部分。计划中的一项飞行任务将使用脉冲等离子体推力器提升轨道,这需要相当大的推力,而以前试验的结构不能提供这么大的推力。此外,试验所用的电容器能量比以前为这项任务所试验的电容器能量要高。研究人员对多种电极结构进行了试验,最后为飞行硬件的研制选择了一种结构。本文详细介绍了电极优化的结果。
Two small satellite missions currently use a pulse plasma thruster (PPT) and are also planning to use it for the third small satellite mission. In these missions, the unique features of pulsed plasma thrusters will be utilized to facilitate propulsion maneuvers such as attitude control, track lifting, orbit transfer, and precise positioning. Because pulsed plasma thrusters are essentially independent propulsion devices that do not require the use of toxic propulsion systems and / or distributed propulsion systems, they are favored by small satellite applications. Pulsed plasma thrusters can also operate at low power without sacrificing performance over a wide power range. A pilot project has been initiated to optimize thruster performance based on electrode configuration as part of the technological development required for the above mission. A planned mission will use pulsed plasma thrusters to lift the track, which requires considerable thrust, as previously tested structures did not provide as much thrust. In addition, the capacitor used for the test was higher in energy than the capacitors tested previously for this task. Researchers have tested a variety of electrode structures, and finally chose a structure for the development of flying hardware. This article details the electrode optimization results.