Spacecraft Interaction Test Results of the High Performance Hall System SPT-140 (Postprint)
Abstract
Ground tests were performed to help characterize modes of interaction between the SPT-140 Hall thruster and spacecraft components. The experiments were performed at NASA Glenn Research Center and at the University of Michigan. Measurements were made of thruster plume current density, electromagnetic interference (EMl), and surface sputtering and contamination. Diagnostics included Faraday probes, collimated sputter/deposition targets, and radio-frequency detectors. Ion current density measurements showed exponential decay with off-axis angle up to approximately 30 degrees. At off-axis angles greater than 30 degrees, results varied with chamber background pressure, presumably due to ambient charge exchange plasma. Sputter rates of solar cell coverglass. Kapton, and RTV were accurately measured I in from the thruster exit for off-axis angles less than 60 degrees. At off-axis angles greater than 60 degrees, the sputter rate was on the order of the measurement uncertainty. EMI tests found very little emission in the traditional RF communication bands. At the lowest frequencies, one band of E-field emission (10kHz to 20MHz) was detected which exceeded the MIL-STD-461C specification by up to 53dB.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 17, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA471175
Entities
People
- A. Gallimore
- C. Sarmiento
- D. A. Jaworske
- J. Haas
- J. M. Fife
- J. S. Snyder
- L. Mason
- R. Jankovsky
- S. Malone
- W. A. Hargus Jr.
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory