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European Student Moon Orbiter solar electric propulsion subsystem architecture: an all–electric spacecraft

European Student Moon Orbiter solar electric propulsion subsystem architecture: an all–electric spacecraft
European Student Moon Orbiter solar electric propulsion subsystem architecture: an all–electric spacecraft
This paper presents the Phase A study of the Solar Electric Propulsion subsystem selected for the ESA European Student Moon Orbiter enhanced microsatellite, performed at QinetiQ under ESA funding. To minimise mass, a so-called "all electric" approach is adopted based around the re-use of the GOCE T5 gridded ion engine and the introduction of Hollow Cathode Thrusters (HCTs) for attitude control functions. Three different subsystem architectures are considered and analyzed with reference to the mass, cost, risk and level of integration between the HCTs and the T5. The favoured system architecture that best meets the various requirements adopts a shared tank and gas flow controller between the HCTs and the T5, with power being supplied from two dedicated power processing units. The possibility of reducing the propellant requirement by using an engine gimbal mechanism is also presented. The study also demonstrates how an increase in the T5 specific impulse to higher values than used on GOCE does not offer substantial system-level mass savings in this particular case.
hollow cathode thruster, all electric spacecrafts, esmo, esa, sseti, lunar mission
Coletti, Michele
f99567c2-8fab-42dd-9e25-c3f69495667f
Grubisic, Angelo
94e5f6ea-9b65-4c81-bfa1-f0e29e8bbaf4
Wallace, Neil
d6460b1c-2bcc-43db-b907-fab87abd5cc6
Wells, Nigel
c3047a32-4cbc-4f9e-a023-9e0e6fad91cd
Coletti, Michele
f99567c2-8fab-42dd-9e25-c3f69495667f
Grubisic, Angelo
94e5f6ea-9b65-4c81-bfa1-f0e29e8bbaf4
Wallace, Neil
d6460b1c-2bcc-43db-b907-fab87abd5cc6
Wells, Nigel
c3047a32-4cbc-4f9e-a023-9e0e6fad91cd

Coletti, Michele, Grubisic, Angelo, Wallace, Neil and Wells, Nigel (2007) European Student Moon Orbiter solar electric propulsion subsystem architecture: an all–electric spacecraft. 30th International Electric Propulsion Conference (IEPC 2007), Florence, Italy. 17 - 20 Sep 2007. 13 pp .

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

This paper presents the Phase A study of the Solar Electric Propulsion subsystem selected for the ESA European Student Moon Orbiter enhanced microsatellite, performed at QinetiQ under ESA funding. To minimise mass, a so-called "all electric" approach is adopted based around the re-use of the GOCE T5 gridded ion engine and the introduction of Hollow Cathode Thrusters (HCTs) for attitude control functions. Three different subsystem architectures are considered and analyzed with reference to the mass, cost, risk and level of integration between the HCTs and the T5. The favoured system architecture that best meets the various requirements adopts a shared tank and gas flow controller between the HCTs and the T5, with power being supplied from two dedicated power processing units. The possibility of reducing the propellant requirement by using an engine gimbal mechanism is also presented. The study also demonstrates how an increase in the T5 specific impulse to higher values than used on GOCE does not offer substantial system-level mass savings in this particular case.

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More information

Published date: September 2007
Additional Information: IEPC-2007-111
Venue - Dates: 30th International Electric Propulsion Conference (IEPC 2007), Florence, Italy, 2007-09-17 - 2007-09-20
Keywords: hollow cathode thruster, all electric spacecrafts, esmo, esa, sseti, lunar mission
Organisations: Aeronautics, Astronautics & Comp. Eng

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 48612
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/48612
PURE UUID: 9a1790f4-1671-4ce4-a5e6-d2657ac34af0

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 10 Dec 2007
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 09:48

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Contributors

Author: Michele Coletti
Author: Angelo Grubisic
Author: Neil Wallace
Author: Nigel Wells

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