2009 年 7 巻 ists26 号 p. Pb_113-Pb_118
In order to adapt to a wide variety of the space flights, such as small geosynchronous satellites and deep space explorers, feasibility study of performance enhancement options for the microwave discharge ion thruster µ10 is underway. Authors are considering the following five options: 1. Lower insertion loss DC blocks; 2. Direct monopole antenna insertion to the discharge chamber without using a circular waveguide part; 3. Optimization of gas injector layout which was originally located deep in the waveguide; 4. Additional magnet rings aiming ion loss reduction to the side wall of the discharge chamber; 5. New ion optics consists of a thinner screen grid and a smaller-hole accelerator grid. Not all but most of them have already been tested and reported in this article. The original models for Hayabusa asteroid explorer generated 8 mN at maximum. Larger thrust generation was impossible even if propellant flow rates and microwave powers were increased. It turned out to be feasible to increase the maximum thrust to a range of 10 - 11 mN with above mentioned options by supplying more flow rates and/or more microwave powers.
