Performance of Electrospray Propulsion on Ground and in Space (Pep-gs) mission
2022-Present Day
Concept of Operations
Mission Objectives
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Primary
P-MO-1: Measure single polarity PBPF ionic liquid electrospray thruster telemetry in space.
P-MO-2: Measure thrust and specific impulse (I_sp) from a single polarity PBPF ionic liquid electrospray thruster in space.
P-MO-3: Measure spacecraft potential due to operation of a single polarity PBPF ionic liquid electrospray thruster.
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Secondary
S-MO-1: Measure ionosphere plasma density as a function of orbit location and compare with data from the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI).
S-MO-2: Compare telemetry, performance, and spacecraft charging data for in-space single polarity PBPF electrospray thruster operation with data from ground testing in a vacuum facility.
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Success Criteria
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Minimum
M-SC-1: PEP-GS shall operate a single polarity, porous borosilicate, passively fed, ionic liquid electrospray thruster for 10 (TBR) firing sequences and collect thruster telemetry data. (P-MO-1, P-MO-3, S-MO-2).
M-SC-2: PEP-GS shall provide data to extract average thrust during firing of a single polarity, porous borosilicate, passively fed, ionic liquid electrospray thruster for 10 (TBR) firing sequences. (P-MO-2, S-MO-2).
M-SC-3: PEP-GS shall measure spacecraft potential as a function of time for 10 (TBR) firing sequences of a single polarity, porous borosilicate, passively fed, ionic liquid electrospray thruster. (P-MO-3, S-MO-1, S-MO-2).
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Full
F-SC-1: PEP-GS shall operate a single polarity, porous borosilicate, passively fed, ionic liquid electrospray thruster and collect thruster telemetry data until a 95% confidence interval in telemetry data is reached . (P-MO-1, P-MO-3, S-MO-2).
F-SC-2: PEP-GS shall provide data to extract average thrust during operation of a single polarity, porous borosilicate, passively fed, ionic liquid electrospray thruster until a 95% confidence interval in thrust is reached. (P-MO-2, S-MO-2).
F-SC-3: PEP-GS shall measure spacecraft potential as a function of time during operation of a single polarity, porous borosilicate, passively fed, ionic liquid electrospray thruster until a 95% confidence interval in spacecraft charge is reached. (P-MO-3, S-MO-1, S-MO-2).
F-SC-4: PEP-GS shall provide data to extract ion number density before and after firing sequences to compare spacecraft potential with orbit location. (P-MO-3, S-MO-1).