80 mN霍尔推力器空心阴极寿命试验

我国的多个GEO卫星平台即将采用电推进系统完成轨道保持任务,其中比冲为1 600s的80 mN霍尔推力器是国际公认的最适合完成该项任务的推力器,也是目前国外卫星和深空探测器应用最广的电推力器.为满足15年GEO卫星寿命要求,80 mN霍尔推力器必须达到7500h和8 000次点火的寿命指标.空心阴极作为霍尔推力器的重要组件,其寿命和点火次数必须达到相应的指标.为此,上海空间推进研究所开展了80 mN霍尔推力器空心阴极的寿命试验,试验采用模拟推力器阳极的三极管工作方式进行.截止2013年8月上旬,试验件1完成10 322 h寿命试验（含4 549次点火）,试验件2完成24 248次加热器热循环试验.空心阴极的寿命已经达到任务要求,两个试验件的放电电压、触持极电压和点火时间等性能指标变化很小,目前试验还在持续进行中.

Life test of hollow cathode for 80 mN Hall thruster

Electric propulsion （EP） system will be used for station keeping in several geosynchronous earth orbit （GEO） satellite platforms in China. The 80 mN Hall thruster with specific impulse of 1 600 s is recognized as the most suitable thruster for this mission. It is also the most widely applied electric thruster for satellite and deep space mission abroad. To meet the service life of 15 years for GEO satellites, the Hall thruster must work for at least 7 500 hours ＆ 8 000 times of ignition. As an important component of thruster, the hollow cathode＇s life and ignition time must meet the corresponding requirements. Therefore, the ground life test of two hollow cathodes of 80 mN Hall thruster for space application was conducted in Shanghai Institute of Space Propulsion （SISP）. The test was performed in triode configuration mode simulating the thruster anode in order to simulate the conditions in the real thruster operation. By early August 2013, the hollow cathode No. 1 had been operated for over 10 322 hours （including ignition cycle of 4 549 times）, and the hollow cathode No.2 had endured 24 248 times of its heater thermal cycles. The life of the hollow cathode meets therequirements. The two hollow cathodes have small changes in discharge voltage, keeper voltage and ignition time during the tests. The test is still in process.