Accomplishment and prospect of isas electric propulsion

Abstract

The electric propulsion is one of the promising choices because of its high specific impulse when one would like to give a rise to the limited payload capability of the launch vehicle. Especially in a long-term mission or a high-energy mission, the electric propulsion provides less consumption of propellant or more payload mass under a given mass constraint of the satellite and the scientific probe. The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) has been developing a variety of electric propulsions for 30 years. These continuing efforts are now turning out to be an application era for the propulsion systems for near-Earth and/or interplanetary transportation of space probes with scientific missions in the 21st century. A magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) arcjet successfully finished its space test onboard the Space Flyer Unit (SFU), a microwave ion engine is being developed for the asteroid sample return mission, and a DC arcjet is ready to be used for future orbit transfer or attitude control of Earth-bound satellites. The electric propulsions are divided into three major groups according to their plasma acceleration principles, electromagnetic, electrostatic and electrothermal devices. In ISAS, all the types of electric propulsions are studied as the high Δ V mission enablers and in this report these accomplishments and future prospects are introduced.