Abstract
Field emission electric propulsion is the technological application of the principle of liquid metal ion sources as thrusters in electric space propulsion. This paper describes the influence of the residual gas atmosphere on a slit-type field ion thruster with liquid cesium as propellant obtained during a long-term test of about 100 days, occasionally simulating the vacuum conditions outside a spacecraft in low Earth orbit. Major deviations of the current-voltage emission characteristic due to gas adsorption and the related contamination of the slit area of the ion thruster have been found, as well as a recovery effect initiated by high current ion emission.
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