Long-Life C12A7 Heaterless Cathode for Electric Propulsion Thrusters
Abstract
Since 2017, a heaterless hollow cathode has been developed at the Technische Universitaet Dresden, using the emitter C12A7 electride [Ca24Al28O64]4 (4e-). During this time, many findings have been reported in the corresponding interim reports. The primary accomplishment of this research was the development and research towards achieving C12A7 cathode Hull thruster neutralizer operating at 2 Amps for 950 hours before running out of propellant gas (i.e. the neutralizer cathode did not stop working -- just experiment ran out of gas and stopped experiment). This report will give a detailed overview of the development of the hollow cathode and the achievements and results in the corresponding work packages over the course of the entire project. Some findings during the last year with the zero cost extension will be added as well as dedicated discussions to the work packages itself.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 02, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1165541
Entities
People
- C. Drobny
- J. P. Wulfkuehler
- Martin Tajmar
- N. Gondol