Several conditions make iodine a good candidate for replacing xenon in EP applications. Not only it has good ionization properties, but also it has the possibility to store it in solid state and has a cost ten times lower. The paper deals with the most recent results of an activity aimed at the development of a 100 W class, iodine fed Hall effect thruster, jointly carried out by the University of Pisa and Sitael S.p.A. The activities include the design and development of a feeding system, the modification of the Sitael HT100 Hall thruster and the upgrade of the diagnostics and vacuum facility for testing with iodine. An assessment of the feasibility of adapting current xenon-fed cathodes to the use on iodine is also illustrated.
Overview of the Unipi & Sitael Activity on Iodine-Fed Hall Effect Thrusters
F. Paganucci;L. Bernazzani;A. Ceccarini;M. Saravia;T. Andreussi;
2018-01-01
Abstract
Several conditions make iodine a good candidate for replacing xenon in EP applications. Not only it has good ionization properties, but also it has the possibility to store it in solid state and has a cost ten times lower. The paper deals with the most recent results of an activity aimed at the development of a 100 W class, iodine fed Hall effect thruster, jointly carried out by the University of Pisa and Sitael S.p.A. The activities include the design and development of a feeding system, the modification of the Sitael HT100 Hall thruster and the upgrade of the diagnostics and vacuum facility for testing with iodine. An assessment of the feasibility of adapting current xenon-fed cathodes to the use on iodine is also illustrated.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
