Thrust Stand Characterization of the NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster

摘要

Direct thrust measurements have been made on the NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster using a standardnpendulum-style thrust stand constructed specifically for this application. Values have been obtained for the fulln40-level throttle table, as well as for a few offnominal operating conditions. Measurements differ from the nominalnNASA throttle table 10 values by 3.1% at most, while at 30 throttle levels, the difference is less than 2.0%. Whennmeasurements are comparedwith throttle table 10 values that have been corrected using recently obtained ion beamncurrent density and charge-state data, they differ by 1.2%at most, and at 37 throttle levels, they differ by 1.0%ornless. Thrust correction factors calculated from direct thrust measurements and from recently acquired plume datanagree towithinmeasurement error for all but one throttle level.Measurements of thrust due to cold flow, neutralizer,nand discharge-only operation are also presented.