Activities on Electric Propulsion in Japan - Space Flight from Basic Research -

Abstract

The microwave discharge ion engine system on MUSES-C and the DC arcjet on DRTS are now under preparation for space flight in this year. The Kaufman type ion engine on ETS-VIII will be launched soon. Besides these well-developed system some joint ventures with universities and companies invest energetic R & D efforts to the large ion engines, the Hall thruster with high performance, the space applicable PPT and the low power DC arcjet. The academic activities are still brisk in the field of electric propulsion and related topics in Japan. 1. INTRODACTION Many universities and institutes in Japan have investigated the physics of electric propulsion and the related phenomena since 1970’s because they are very attractive topics. Based on the academic research some kinds of electric propulsion system and the integration technology were developed. Some flight demonstrations supplied a lot of information and experiences to Japanese industry and academic community. Passing through the R & D era the electric propulsion is applied to the main system in the bus technology. The MUSES-C and DRTS spacecraft will be launched accompanying with electric propulsion in this year. The flight of ETSVIII is close at hand. In order to support wide variety of space application including huge system and micro probes a lot of engineering effort is invested energetically by joint ventures with universities and companies. The academic research is still active in the field of electric propulsion. This paper will report the recent activities related on the electric propulsion of Japan in the following three sections.