Browsing by Author "Stansell, Paul Robert"

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    Vacuum Arc Propulsion Systems for In Space Refuelling and Small Satellite Applications
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Stansell, Paul Robert; Lafleur, Trevor; Ferrer, Phil
    In this work a compact and low power vacuum arc ion thruster and related circuitry were built utilising a vacuum arc thruster (VAT) as the plasma source. A number of VAT designs were tested before the final ion thruster design comprising of a modified coaxial VAT with a copper cathode and an extended anode grid to reduce peak ion currents was chosen. This design was chosen as it produced the best performance and prevented excessive grid arcing which was a problem encountered throughout this work. The final ion thruster required only one liter of volume, excluding electronics, and could be operated at an average power of less than one watt. Pulsed ion beams of up to 20 ± 1.4mA of copper ions with beam energy 3.23 ± 0.22keV lasting on average 320µs were produced by the system and detected by a plate downstream of the thruster. The grid system was unable to extract the large ion currents produced by the VAT which meant the overall electrical efficiency, thrust to power ratio and specific impulse were low compared to existing gas-fueled gridded ion thrusters; 2.28%, 0.474mN/kW and 33s respectively. Finally, a metallic meteorite sample was used as the cathode in a planar VAT and the ion current was measured. It was concluded that the vacuum arc ion thruster is a promising propulsion system for small satellites and has potential for refuelling from metals present in the space environment. This study adds a novel, miniature, low power and low beam voltage design to the limited literature on vacuum arc ion thrusters.