AIAA 97=2782 Advanced Ion Propulsion Technology for Solar System Exploration

The use of ion propulsion for deepspace missions is becoming a reality with the flight ne~l year of the ion-propelled New Millennium Deep Space 1 spacecraft. This event is already stimulating the call for improved ion propulsion technologies, a trend which is expected to continue. This paper describes the examination of advanced solar electric propulsion technologies to determine their potential benefits for projected near-and mid-term solar system exploration missions. The advanced technologies include high performance derivatives of the NSTAR technology, quarter-scale NSTAR systems, and direct-drive Hall-effect thruster with anode layer (TAL) systems and are compared to a baseline represented by the ion propulsion system which till fly on DS1. The results of this study indicate that significant benefits can be obtained by the development first of Improved versions of the DS1 ion propulsion system components. In addition, if the projected current trend to smaller planetary spacecraft continues, then the missions flying these small spacecraft will benefit substantially from the development of a scaleddown system approximately l/4* the size of the NSTAR which incorporates advanced technologies in the ion engine and the propellant feed system. The performance of the direct-drive TAL systems, while potentiality the superior to that of all other options did not appear within the constraints of this study to offer sufficient performance gains to offset the development risks.