Computational and experimental investigation of a weakly diverging ion beam source

Abstract

This paper presents the idea of space debris removal by the ion beam. The main part of this idea is the ion source on the board of the spacecraft. The ion beam should be narrow, with small half-angle of divergence - about 2°. Angle of divergence means that in there are 95% of ions in this angle. Authors show the concept of the slotted ion optic system. Based on calculation, the construction of the ion optic was designed and tested as part of the laboratory model of the ion source. The results obtained during the experimental testing verified the possibility of using an ion source of such type as an ion injector, which can be installed on board a next-generation spacecraft for the removal of space debris objects.