First result of orbit verification of Taiji-1 hall micro thruster.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Xu, Shu-Yan; Xu, Lu-Xiang; Cong, Lin-Xiao; Li, Yong-Gui; Qiao, Cong-Feng
- Source
- International Journal of Modern Physics A: Particles & Fields; Gravitation; Cosmology; Nuclear Physics. 4/30/2021, Vol. 36 Issue 11/12, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 16p.
- Subject
- *HALL effect thruster
*GRAVITY waves
*NOISE control
*PLASMA instabilities
*COLD gases
- Language
- ISSN
- 0217-751X
The Hall Micro Thrusters (HMTs) use cold gas or accelerated plasma dual mode to provide ultra-precise spacecraft altitude control. They were operated in space for the first time as part of the demonstration payloads on Chinese Academy of Science's (CASs) Taiji-1 spacecraft since September 2019. Hall Micro Thruster Assemblies (HMTAs) were the actuators in drag-free control, and will compensate the nonconservative force for gravity wave observatories. The HMTAs meet the requirements of operating at 5–100 μ N of thrust with 0.7 μ N resolution and ≤ 0.6 μ N/Hz 1 / 2 (0.01–1 Hz) noise to deliver the nanometer-level precision control as fast as 30 ms measured by Gravitational Reference Sensor (GRS). A transfer function model in z-domain was fit and used to filter HMTs cathode voltage to predict GRSs thrust noise response. Simulations of a single or dual-frequency disturbance and the corresponding compensation demonstrated that HMTAs could deliver the required thrust profile expected. The capability to meet the requirements of thruster noise in drag-free control is critical for future missions because the acceleration noise on test mass directly relates to the gravity wave signa l. Preliminary in-orbit verification of Taiji-1 has showed HMTAs' great potential in future, and the data in the experiments are presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]