Overview of the Air Force ESEX Flight Experiment

Abstract

In the post cold war, the United States Air Force is challenged by the need for increased maneuverability of the U.S. space assets, and the need to reduce launch costs. These needs have spawned the Electric Propulsion Space Experiment (ESEX). ESEX will address key issues associated with high power arcjets. Measuring performance in space and interactions on the spacecraft of this new plasma propulsion system will provide the first step towards the operational use of high power arcjets. Currently, the program is nearing completion of the second phase, in which the subsystems are being built, tested, and integrated into a flight unit. In the third phase, the flight unit environmental tests will be performed. In the last phases, the flight unit will fly aboard the P91-1 spacecraft, the Advanced Research Global Observation Satellite (ARGOS) in late 1995.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1993
Accession Number
ADA419694

Entities

People

  • A. M. Sutton

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Artificial Satellites
  • California
  • Command And Control
  • Electric Propulsion
  • Governments
  • Launch Vehicles
  • Maneuverability
  • Measurement
  • Propulsion Systems
  • Spacecraft
  • Thermal Radiation
  • Thrust
  • United States
  • Vehicles

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Propulsion Engineering.
  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Software Engineering

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster
  • Space - Satellites