Verification of Exhaust Quasineutrality in a Pulsed Cathodic Arc Thruster Testbed

Verification of Exhaust Quasineutrality in a Pulsed Cathodic Arc Thruster Testbed

Utah State University, Logan UT

Electric propulsion systems have become more common on-orbit in recent years due to their many benefits[1]. Most flight-rated systems generate thrust by producing an ion beam directed away from the spacecraft, which must then be neutralised to ensure proper spacecraft operation [2]. Despite decades of flight heritage, neutraliser lifetime is one of the more common life-limiting factors for Hall and ion thrusters [2, 3]. Systems currently under development that generate neutral plasma jets do not require a neutraliser, removing failure modes and reducing system complexity [4]. Neumann Space has developed to flight-readiness a pulsed cathodic arc thruster, which does not require a neutraliser. Here we present work done using the inner surface of a steel vacuum chamber as a Faraday cup to capture the exhaust of a pulsed cathodic arc thruster testbed, instrumented to measure charge flow and verify exhaust neutrality.