NDLI: The SMART-1 Spacecraft Potential Investigations

Content Provider	IEEE Xplore Digital Library
Author	Estublier, D.L.
Copyright Year	1973
Abstract	The SMART-1 mission was successfully completed on September 3, 2006, with a controlled crash on the visible side of the Moon. The primary electric-propulsion (EP) system included a nonredundant SNECMA PPS-1350-G Hall effect thruster. The thruster discharge was electrically floating with respect to the spacecraft ground. The cathode floating potential (U _CRP) is an important thruster parameter, giving information on cathode performance and life expectancy. During ground testing and steady-state operation, U _CRP was approximately constant and negative. However, in space, it was observed that the U _CRP was slightly positive and was periodically varying in time by a few volts. The capability to compare to ground-test data and check the cathode good health and life potential was largely impaired. Fortunately, SMART-1 included a plasma diagnostic package (electric-propulsion diagnostic package) with a Langmuir probe and a retarding-potential analyzer, both positioned on the same plane as the plasma thruster and provided data on the plasma potential as well as the energy of the charge-exchange ions. The short- and long-term correlations of these data with the cathode reference potential (CRP) were performed. It was concluded that the U _CRP is evolving with respect to the plume potential near the cathode, and this potential difference is shown to be constant over the mission. Plume-potential distribution is adapting itself relative to the local plasma potential. The spacecraft potential with respect to the plasma potential is defined in steady state when the electron and ion currents entering and leaving the spacecraft are balanced. This balance depends primarily on the solar-array electrical configuration and orientation and thruster operating conditions. When the local plasma is chosen as a reference, the absolute cathode potential is found to be the same as the one on the ground. This paper confirms the good health of the cathodes. Contrary to a spacecraft without EP, the SMART-1 spacecraft potential varies within a limited range and is comparatively close to zero during electric-thruster operation. In addition, U _CRP can be used to derive the spacecraft potential throughout the mission. All the various cyclic and long-term effects influencing the spacecraft potential on SMART-1 have been identified and characterized across the mission lifetime. In particular, a strong correlation between the solar-array rotation and the variation of the spacecraft potential has been established.
Sponsorship	IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society
Starting Page	2262
Ending Page	2270
Page Count	9
File Size	2983424
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00933813
Volume Number	36
Issue Number	5
Language	English
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Publisher Date	2008-10-01
Publisher Place	U.S.A.
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Rights Holder	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subject Keyword	Space vehicles Cathodes Plasma applications Plasma diagnostics Steady-state Packaging Computer crashes Moon Hall effect Testing solar-array current collection Electric propulsion (EP) floating potential frame charging Hall effect thruster radiation belts radiation-induced conductivity
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Nuclear and High Energy Physics Condensed Matter Physics

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

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