Advanced Pulsed Plasma Thruster Electrical Components

An overview of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and industry project to advance the state of pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) electrical component technology is presented. Following the successful development of the PPT for the Earth Observing-1 mission, the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center contracted with industry to develop advanced energy storage, discharge initiation and power processing components to meet future mission PPT needs. Unison Industries, with support from General Dynamics Space Propulsion Systems and CU Aerospace, developed breadboard level components that provide projected benefits in low mass, long life, low impulse bit variability and operational flexibility. This paper describes the government/industry process of PPT architecture definition, technology selection, and component design. Key features of the resulting designs are related to future mission capabilities.