Low power electric propulsion for minor body applications

The authors present the results of a specific application of low power solar electric arcjets (400-700 Watts) for minor body (asteroid and extinct comet) rendezvous and departure. Low power arcjets offer advantages for such operations; among them are higher I,, relative to conventional chemical propulsion and a concomitant propellant savings at minimal impact to spacecraft power requirements. They can simplify propellant feed systems because they use many existing components and may eliminate oxidizer propellants. Also, because these propulsion systems are inherently low thrust, they offer flexibility in launch and arrival dates as well as stay time relative to high thrust (nearly impulsive) propulsion. Following a description of the numerical procedure used to perform the trajectory and system analysis, results comparing state of the an bi-propellant and low power arcjet propulsion options are presented. The results are used both to identify system level requirements and to establish propulsion technology needs not met by available arcjet propulsion systems. Conceptual designs for these systems are presented for these systems and conclusions based upon this investigation are given.