今井 駿

This paper reports on our study to develop a magnetic circuit with a discrete outer coil and test its performance in a Hall thruster. The results were compared to those of a Hall thruster on board the Engineering Test Satellite-9 (ETS-9), which used a cylindrical outer coil. At the normalized magnetic field strength of 0.58 for the 6 kW operation using a six poles discrete outer coil, the thrust, discharge current, Isp, thrust-to-power ratio, thrust efficiency, and discharge oscillation were 386.7 mN, 19.0 A, 1890 s, 66.9%, 62.0%, and 13.5% respectively. The Hall thruster with the new magnetic circuit achieved equivalent performance (including discharge stability) to the Hall thruster on board the ETS-9. Further, the study investigated the effect of the number of poles on the performance of the Hall thruster: the performance with the three pole coil was lower than that with the six poles coil. This paper also reports on the effect of pole numbers on utilization efficiency. Mass and current utilization efficiency were more affected by the magnetic field generated by the three poles outer coil.

<p>The ion energy angle distribution and its relationship to plasma parameters for spot and plume modes are elucidated for a LaB₆ hollow cathode with a radiative heater. Measurements were conducted using a retarding potential analyzer (RPA) and a single Langmuir probe. The ion energy distribution function (IEDF) characteristics showed different tendencies in the current density and mass flow-rate dependence under different plasma modes. The IEDF peak potential for the spot mode varied from 16 to 23 V with increasing current density, and the IEDF peak potential for the plume mode varied from 16 to 32 V with decreasing mass flow rate. Considering angle dependency of ion energy, when the observation angle was changed from the radial direction to the axial direction, the IEDF peak potential increased from 29 to 40 V for the plume mode (10 A, 10 sccm) and increased slightly from 16 to 18 V for the spot mode (20 A, 30 sccm). The probe measurement analysis revealed that the IEDF peak energies are the same as, or exceed, the plasma potential and have a qualitative correlation with the electron temperature spatial distribution.</p>

JAXA’s asteroid explorer Hayabusa2 completed its operation near the asteroid 162173 Ryugu, which started in June 2018, and carried out a maneuver away from the asteroid on November 13, 2019. In the outbound operation, the total delta-v performed by its ion propulsion was about 1,015 m/s, the space powered flight time reached 6,515 hours, 24 kg of propellant xenon was consumed, and 42 kg remained. On the return trip, 2,400 hours of operation was carried out in two parts, from December 2019 to February 2020 and from May to August 2020. Trajectory correction maneuver TCM-0 was carried out with one ion thruster from September 15 to 17, 2020, which was the last operation of the ion engine system, followed by several TCMs by chemical propulsion. The capsule returned to Earth on December 6, 2020. The total delta-v in the round trip was about 1.3 km/s, and the powered flight time was 9,398 hours. After consuming 31 kg of propellant xenon, 35 kg remained, a series of close flyby with an L-type asteroid 2001 CC21 in 2026 and rendezvous with a fast rotator asteroid 1998 KY26 in 2031 has been proposed as an extended mission of Hayabusa2 and its ion engine were restarted on January 5, 2021. The cumulative operating times for the four ion thrusters are 6,996, 2,880, 9,220, and 8,941 hours, respectively. 12,632-hour powered flight by the ion engine system produced about 1.7 km/s delta-v. An engineering model of Hayabusa2 neutralizer has been subjected to ground durability tests since the summer of 2012 prior to launch. 75,277 hours have passed by the end of September 2021, and it is still operating without failure and testing is ongoing.