Performance Evaluation of a Novel Inductive Atmosphere-Breathing EP System

Challenging space mission scenarios include those in low altitude orbits, where the atmosphere creates significant drag to the S/C and forces their orbit to an early decay. An atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system (ABEP) ingests the residual atmosphere through an intake and uses it as propellant for an electric thruster that compensates the drag. Theoretically applicable to any planet with atmosphere, the system might allow to orbit for an unlimited period without carrying propellant on-board. IRS has several decades of heritage on the development of inductively heated plasma generators (IPG). Such devices are electrodeless, therefore issues of potential electrode erosion are eliminated. This paper deals with the complete refurbishment of a facility that was previously used for RIT testing, for the use of IPG6-S, a small scale IPG with an input power up to 3.5 kW. This facility allows more reliable test conditions. First operational and performance tests of IPG6-S have been performed. IPG6-S serves as test bed for the development of an inductive plasma thruster (IPT) for ABEP application. A newly designed water-cooled de Laval nozzle has been built and applied to IPG6-S. The nozzle is modular, it has the possibility of having various configurations so to assess its performance in terms of plasma acceleration and thrust production. Within this paper plasma plume energy has been measured by means of a cavity calorimeter and correlated to current, power, and pressure in the injector head.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version