See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/264977125

Short Review on Electric Propulsion System: Ion Thruster

Article · August 2015

DOI: 10.13140/2.1.2331.8406

CITATIONS READS

0 7,740

2 authors, including:

Tanzim Kawnine
Luleå University of Technology
1 PUBLICATION   0 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Spacecraft Design View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Tanzim Kawnine on 24 August 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Manuscript prepared for J. Name
with version 5.0 of the LATEX class copernicus.cls.
Date: 24 August 2014

Short Review on Electric Propulsion System: Ion Thruster

Tanzim Kawnine1 and Maria Kawnine1
1
Luleå University of Technology

Correspondence to: Tanzim Kawnine

tankaw-0@student.ltu.se

Abstract. Ion thrusters have proven to be a suitable and ef-

ficient alternative to conventional propulsion systems. With
very low demand on fuel due to very high specific impulse
generation, ion thrusters can easily compete with chemi-
5 cal propulsion systems, even if the produced thrust is much
lower. The system can be used for various mission demands
like orbit station keeping for geostationary satellites, orbit
and attitude controlling and multi-goal missions. Whereas
chemical propulsion is highly unsuitable for deep space mis-
10 sions, ion thrusters are also making it possible to reach out
further into deep space. This paper represents a short re-
view on electric propulsion systems, specifically on the Ion
Thruster with its design and functions.

Fig. 1. Propulsion System Classification

15 1 Introduction

The propulsion of choice for science fiction writers has be-

come the propulsion of choice for scientists and engineers 35 Generally, there are two types of propulsion systems. Sys-
in space engineering. The efficient use of fuel and electri- tems that are performing functions such as orbit transfer are
cal power enable today’s spacecraft to travel farther, faster referred to as primary propulsion, whereas systems which are
20 as well as cheaper than any other propulsion technology cur- associated with the orbital attitude and control are referred to
rently available. secondary propulsion (Fortescue et al., 2011).
In Figure 1, a general classification scheme of propul- 40 For apogee injection, the launcher carries the satellite into
sion systems is depicted. The concept of Ion Thruster can be an elliptical transfer orbit. To further reach geostationary or-
found as a branch of electrostatic rocket propulsion systems. bit, a thrust level of 400 – 600 N is applied to move the satel-
25 Electric propulsion systems branch out to electro thermal, lite into the required circular orbit.
electromagnetic and electrostatic rocket propulsion, which The task for a secondary propulsion system is dependent
indicates that the concept of electric propulsion systems is 45 on the specific type of propulsion as well as the space mis-
indeed a very well known and well studied concept, that sion. In general, the tasks can be summarized as follows: The
might offer an alternative to conventional propulsion sys- propulsion system is used for orbital control, to reach the de-
30 tems. These conventional systems can be seen in the other sired position after initial injection from the launcher. It fur-
two branches of rocket propulsion: thermal and nuclear sys- ther maintains the satellite in the required position during its
tems. Especially the thermal-chemical system with its vari- 50 operational time. Eventually, at the end of life (EOL) of a
ations of propellant is the most commonly used propulsion satellite, the propulsion system is used for the injection into
system in space engineering. a ”graveyard”. Besides orbit controlling, the propulsion sys-
 2 T. and M. Kawnine: Ion Thruster

tem is also vital for the attitude controlling of the satellite. Thruster types and functions
The level of thrust to perform attitude controlling depends
55 on the size of the satellites and lies between 1 and 22 N (Ley There are three different main groups in electric propulsion
et al., 2008). For interplanetary missions, the propulsion sys- technologies:
tems have additional task to perform such as a precise course
105 1. Electro thermal propulsion
correction during the flight for a number of years as well as
deceleration of satellite to swing into an orbit of a planet or a 2. Electrostatic propulsion
60 moon.
In the 1950’s, the Glenn Research Center began their work 3. Electromagnetic propulsion
on ion propulsion which is related to the electric propulsion
Electro thermal propulsion, as a combination of electric and
system. The first operational ion propulsion system in space
chemical propulsion system, uses electromagnetic fields to
was the Science Electric Rocket Test 1 (SERT 1) which flew
110 generate plasma to increase the temperature of the bulk pro-
65 in July 1964 and total 31 minutes of operational time before
pellant. The thermal energy, which is transferred to the pro-
it returned to Earth. Today, electric propulsion systems are
pellant gas, is then converted to kinetic energy. Hydrogen,
commonly used for station keeping of geostationary commu-
helium, ammonia are used for this type of propulsion sys-
nication satellites. Currently, the NASA Evolutionary Xenon
tem (Fortescue et al., 2011). Electro thermal system perfor-
Thrusters (NEXT) is under development which will reduce
115 mance in terms of specific impulse, Isp , is between 500 –
70 mission cost and trip time. NEXT is capable of performing
1000 s, but still greater than chemical propulsion which can
wide variety of missions to targets of interest such as Mars
be referred to ”mono-propellant”, ”bi-propellant” and ”cold
and Saturn.
gas thrusters”.
In the following it will be shown that ion propulsion sys-
Electrostatic propulsion uses electric fields to acceler-
tem is suitable for the tasks that are specified for secondary
120 ate ionized propellant gas. The ionization is performed by
75 propulsion system and also long-term interplanetary mis-
means of DC discharge, radio frequency or electron syn-
sions.
chrotron (Ley et al., 2008). The positively charged particles
are then neutralized by adding electrons from a neutraliser
outside of the acceleration zone. The physical principle of
125 the ion thruster as a part of the electrostatic propulsion will
be described in a greater detail in Section 3.
2 Space electric propulsion By applying both electric and magnetic fields, an ion-
ized propellant gas is accelerated which is known as electro-
magnetic propulsion system (Jahn, 1968). Using this tech-
As mentioned earlier, the electric propulsion has been an ac-
130 nique, both ions and electrons are exhausted out of the ve-
tive area of development since the dawn of space flight. But it
hicle without the need of neutralization (Choueiri, 2009).
80 is only in recent years that electric propulsion has been used
Examples include Hall thrusters, pulsed plasma thrusters
in commercial, scientific and military missions. Thrusters for
(PPT), pulsed inductive thrusters (PIT), and magnetoplasma-
electric propulsion systems use ionisable gases for propel-
dynamic thrusters (MPDT).
lant. For interplanetary missions, it is used as a main propul-
sion to achieve a high ∆v, e.g. Deep space 1, SMART-1,
85 Hyabusa, BepiColombo. Most of the electric propulsion sys- 135 3 Physical principle of the Ion Thruster
tems have low thrust levels compared to chemical thrusters,
in the order of some mN up to 1 N, but the overall perfor- The ion propulsion system (IPS) consists of five units:
mance level is greater than that of chemical propulsion sys-
tems by a factor of 10 – 20. – the power processing unit (PPU)
90 Chemical propulsion relies on the stored internal energy – the power source
and is limited with respect to its specific energy in the
molecular bonds of its propellant, whereas energy in electric – propellant management system (PMS)
propulsion is obtained from an external power source such
as solar panels. The propellant to electric propulsion systems 140 – the control computer and
95 can be accelerated to very high velocities, hence achieve a – the ion thruster.
very high specific impulse. The internal energy in chemi-
cal propulsion limits the maximum specific impulse to about The power source is usually any source of electrical power
450 s, in contrast to electric propulsion specific impulses of such as solar or nuclear power. A solar electric propul-
over 17,000 s have been obtained in the laboratory (Curran et sion system (SEP) uses solar cells to generate power. A nu-
100 al., 1991; Ley et al., 2008). This is certainly a great advantage 145 clear electric propulsion system (NEP) is using a nuclear
of electric over chemical propulsion. heat source connected to an electric generator. The generated
 T. and M. Kawnine: Ion Thruster 3

electric power by the power source is then converted by the energy, then the thrust, F , to power ratio is simply:
PPU, supplying the power required for each component of r
the ion thruster. The generated electric power by the power F 2mi
= (2)
150 source is then converted by the PPU, supplying the power W qV
required for each component of the ion thruster, such as the
As the ion thruster produces small levels of thrust relative to
positive and negative grids, discharge chamber and the hol-
chemical thrusters, it generates higher specific impulse or the
low cathodes. The PMS controls the propellant flow from the
185 higher exhaust velocities. It means that such a thruster can
propellant tank. The design of PMS is highly sophisticated
have fuel efficiency of 10 – 12 times greater than a chemical
155 and it does not require moving parts.
thruster. As it has mentioned that the higher the rocket’s spe-
Figure 2 depicts the operation of an ion thruster. An ion
cific impulse or the fuel efficiency, the farther the spacecraft
thruster moves ions by electrostatic repulsion. The neutral
can travel with a given amount of fuel. Because of the low
Xenon propellant enters from the propellant tank. A hol-
190 level of thrust production in ion thrusters relative to chemi-
low cathode emits electrons which impact the Xenon atoms,
cal thrusters, it needs to operate in excess of 10,000 hours to
160 pounding loose an electron and creating positive Xenon ions.
slowly accelerate the spacecraft to speeds necessary to reach
The positive ions are then pushed by gas pressure through
other planets in the solar system (NASA, 2013).
holes in a positive grid. Then the electric field between the
Ion thrusters are capable of propelling spacecraft up to 90
positive and negative grid accelerates the ions such that the
195 km/s. It can be compared to the conventional (chemical)
ion beam is exhausted out through the nozzle. A hollow cath-
propulsion system which was used in Space Shuttle, capa-
165 ode plasma bridge neutraliser is placed at the exit of the noz-
ble of a top speed of about 8 km/s. The trade-off for high
zle which shoots out electrons to neutralize the ion beam.
speed is the low thrust applied to the spacecraft. The draw-
Otherwise the ions would be attracted back to the negative
back is that the ion thruster must be operated for a long time
grid, cancelling out the thrust.
200 for the spacecraft to reach its top speed.

4 Design of Ion Thrusters

In the following there are two examples of ion thrusters

presented, NEXT and NSTAR. NSTAR stands for NASA
Solar electric propulsion Technology Application Readiness
205 and provides the Deep Space 1 (DS1) spacecraft with a
xenon ion propulsion system. NEXT is NASA’s Evolutionary
Xenon Thruster. The project is advancing the capability of
ion propulsion to meet NASA robotic science mission needs.
The system hardware has advanced to high state of maturity
210 and testing to date is very successful.

4.1 NSTAR xenon-ion thruster

The Deep Space 1 spacecraft was the first spacecraft to suc-

Fig. 2. Schematics of an Ion Thruster according to (NASA, 2007) cessfully implement the concept of the solar-electric propul-
sion system (Brophy et al., 2006). Designed to deliver to-
The performance of electrostatic thrusters can be obtained 215 tal ∆v of 4.5 km/s while only consuming 81 kg of fuel, the
170 by setting the potential energy in relation to the kinetic en- NSTAR xenon-ion thruster consists of four major building
ergy of the ion (Fortescue et al., 2011). The potential energy blocks:
of the ion, as it leaves the ionization region, is determined by
the voltage potential applied between the ion source and the – Xenon feed system (XFS),
exit plane. The ions achieves its kinetic energy as it is moving – Power processing unit (PPU),
175 through the electrostatic field.
220 – Digital control interface unit (DCIU) and
mi 2
v = qV, (1)
2 – Thruster itself.
where mi is the mass of the ion, q is the charge of the ion As can be seen in this listing, the components are mostly
and V is the potential of the ion source and the exit plane. congruent with those listed in Section 3. The DCUI can be
Assuming that the power plant output (solar cells or nuclear seen as the control computer, which accepts high-level com-
180 power source), W , is fully consumed by the ions into kinetic 225 mands from the spacecraft on-board computer and controls
 4 T. and M. Kawnine: Ion Thruster

both the XFS and the PPU. Aside from that, the DCUI is also 4.2 NEXT ion thruster
responsible for sending the propulsion telemetry data to the
spacecraft OBC. The XFS is similar to the propellant man- NASA’S Evolutionary Xenon Thruster, NEXT, retains criti-
agement system: It provides the propulsion system with the cal heritage to NSTAR. It has similar concept and function
230 xenon propellant and feeds electrons to the neutraliser cath- as its predecessor, only it is generating about three times
ode. The necessary power to run the thruster is converted by 280 as much thrust as an NSTAR engine (NewScientist Space,
the PPU. It converts the power from the solar arrays into nec- 2007).
essary driving currents and voltages for the engine. Similar to the NSTAR system, NEXT implements a xenon
After feeding the xenon propellant into the ionization feed system (XFS), a power processing unit (PPU), a digi-
235 chamber, accelerated electrons are ionizing the xenon atoms. tal control interface unit (DCIU) as well as the thruster it-
The ionization process is further improved by using perma- 285 self. Figure 3 depicts the system schematics for the NEXT
nent magnets in order to attract and accelerate the electrons. propulsion system. As can be seen in this figure, the xenon
Two closely spaced, multi-aperture electrodes (grids) are supply feeds the so-called HPA and LPA systems, before en-
placed at the back end of the engine to accelerate the xenon tering the thruster, where HPA and LPA stand for high and
240 ions. The applied voltage is as high as 1.28 kV. Stripped off low pressure assembly, respectively. The LPA is part of a
and ionizing electrons are collected and used for the neutral- 290 single thruster string: a subsystem, which consists of an ion
ization of the expelled ion stream at the back of the space- thruster, the LPA and a PPU. With the concept of thruster
craft. This is necessary to prevent the spacecraft from charg- strings, NASA enables missions to flexibly add strings if the
ing up negatively and re-attract the positive ion stream. mission requires multiple, thus improving performance and
245 As the spacecraft is moving further away form the Sun, thrust. For redundancy purposes and failure tolerance, one
its solar arrays will produce less output power. These vari- 295 additional thruster string is compulsory for any mission de-
ations have to be taken into account for the design of the sign (Schmidt et al., 2008).
thruster. NSTAR designed the engine in such a way, that it
is capable of operating within a power range of 0.5 kW up
250 to 2.3 kW (Brophy et al., 2006). Within this power range,
the output thrust varies proportionally as well: Assuming a
singly charged xenon ion with mass mi = 2.1802×10−25 kg
and charge q = 1.602177 × 10−19 C, Equation 2 becomes:
r
F 2 × 2.1802 × 10−25 kg mN
= −19
= 0.046
W 1.602177 × 10 C × 1280 V W
255 Given the above power range, the thrust force ranges as fol-
lows: Fig. 3. NEXT system elements, simplified (Schmidt et al., 2008))
mN
Fmin = 0.046 × 500 W = 23.055 mN The improved ion thruster, NEXT, shows the following
W
mN characteristics:
Fmax = 0.046 × 2300 W = 106.055 mN
W
– 0.54 – 6.9 kW input power,
260
→ F ∈ [23.055; 106.055] mN
300 – >236 mN maximum thrust,
In fact, the engine thrust measured in space for a PPU in-
put power of approximately 2 kW can reach up to 75.34 mN, – 4190 s maximum specific impulse,
whereas it remains as small as 20.77 mN for a minimum in-
put power of 0.5 kW (Brophy et al., 2006). Variation of the which enables high power missions with fewer thruster
265 theoretical values from the measured values can be explained strings and is also beneficial for a reduced propellant mass,
by inaccuracies of the input parameters as well as the fact, enabling more payload and a lighter spacecraft.
that the engine input power does not equal the PPU input 305 Repeating the above calculation in the NSTAR subsec-
power completely. tion (Subsection 4.1), the theoretical maximum thrust can be
Another important factor that affects the measurement val- achieved. Assuming the same input variables for Equation 2,
270 ues is the engine efficiency to convert the given input power one can get:
into kinetic energy of the ions. For the NSTAR ion thruster,
this efficiency is greater that 99.6% (Brophy et al., 2006), F mN
= 0.046
which indicates a nearly perfect ion acceleration and can W W
therefore be ruled out as a factor of measurement inaccura- mN
310 Fmax = 0.046 × 6900 W = 318.17 mN
275 cies. W
 T. and M. Kawnine: Ion Thruster 5

As can easily be seen, the maximum output thrust exceeds Stocky, J. Sovey, M. Patterson, V. Rawlin, J. Hamley — Ion
the stated characteristics given above. This is not only due Propulsion System (NSTAR) DS1 Technology Validation Re-
to inaccuracies of the input variables, mi , q, V and W . For 340 port, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2006
315 the NEXT ion thruster, the previously neglected efficiency E.Y. Choueiri — New Dawn for Electric Rockets, Scientific Amer-
does play an important role in this calculation: Compared ican, Feb 2009, 58 - 65.
F.M. Curran, J.S. Sovey, R.M. Myers — Electric propulsion: An
to its predecessor, the thruster shows a reduced efficiency
evolutionary technology, IAF-91-241, 42nd Congress of the In-
of 70% (NASA, 2008), which reduces the maximum output 345 ternational Astronautical Federation, Montreal, CA, Oct. 5-11,
power to 1991
P. Fortescue, G. Swinerd, J. Stark — Spacecraft System Engineer-
mN
320 Fmax = 0.046 × 6900 W × 0.7 = 222.72 mN, ing, Fourth Edition, A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2011.
W R.G. Jahn — Physics of electric propulsion 1st ed., New York,
McGraw-Hill, 1968.
which is - nevertheless - an enormous improvement com- 350
W. Ley, K. Wittmann, W. Hallmann — Handbook of Space Tech-
pared to the NSTAR ion thruster.
nology, First Edition, A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2008.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Anatomy of an
Ion Engine, http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/189338main
355 diagram-browse.jpg, last revised 09-13-07, last visited: 05-19-14
National Aeronautics and Space Administration — NASA’s Evolu-
tionary Xenon Thruster - The NEXT Ion Propulsion System for
Solar System Exploration, Briefing prepared for New Frontiers
AO, 2008
360 National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Ion
Thruster Sets World Record, http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/
imagegallery/image feature 2416.html#.U3tOPvmSySo, last
revised 07-28-13, last visited: 05-20-14
NewScientist Space — http://www.newscientist.com/article/
365 dn12709-nextgeneration-ion-engine-sets-new-thrust-record.
html#.U3to6PmSySo, last revised 09-28-07, last visited:
05-20-14
G.R. Schmidt, M.J. Patterson, S.W. Benson — The NASA Evolu-
tionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT): The next step for U.S. deep
370 space propulsion, IAC-08-C4.4.2, NASA Glenn Research Cen-
ter, 2008

Fig. 4. NEXT ion engine during testing (NewScientist Space, 2007)

5 Conclusions

Ion thrusters have proven to be a suitable and efficient al-

325 ternative to conventional propulsion systems. With very low
demand on fuel due to very high specific impulse genera-
tion, ion thrusters can easily compete with chemical propul-
sion systems, even if the produced thrust is much lower. The
system can be used for various mission demands like orbit
330 station keeping for geostationary satellites, orbit and atti-
tude controlling and multi-goal missions. Whereas chemical
propulsion is highly unsuitable for deep space missions, ion
thrusters are also making it possible to reach out further into
deep space.

335 References

J.R. Brophy, R.Y. Kakuda, J.E. Polk, J.R. Anderson, M.G. Mar-
cucci, D. Brinza, M.D. Henry, K.K. Fujii, K.R. Mantha, J.F.

View publication stats