• Hall Effect Thruster
• HET
• HT100
• Labview
• low power
• performance
• software
• space propulsion
• test

The aim of this work is to illustrate the preparation and the implementation of the test of a Hall Effect Thruster (HET) in the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), The Netherlands.
Testing electric propulsion devices is a challenging task due to the very low thrust levels involved and because of the need to use vacuum facilities to operate the thrusters. Moreover, electric thrusters require a complex electronic system capable of control the energy sources. For these reasons, testing equipments are not always commercial off-the-shelf products, but are manufactured for the purpose of the test. Due to the complexity of the system, one of the key points in testing an electric propulsion device is the data acquisition system development.
The thesis focuses particularly on the architecture of the data acquisition system, including the LabView software acquisition development. The SW was required to control and measure the main test parameters. In particular, it was required to control and record the anode voltage and current, the voltage and current of two cathode-neutralizers (one used as a back-up solution); the mass flow rates (anode and cathode); and to record the pressure of the vacuum chamber and the signals of 4 thermocouples. Moreover, it was required to have an easy user interface and to be versatile for future HET thrusters tests in EPL. The software was developed in a time effective manner and it met all the requirements. The data from the test were recorded and allowed an easy post-processing.
The study of HET testing is particularly interesting and useful because most of the procedures are similar to those applied for other kinds of electric thrusters, such as FEEP thrusters, cold gas thrusters, MPD thrusters. The test device is the HT-100, a HET with a nominal power of 95 W developed by Alta Spa. The test was carried out in May 2009.
The thruster was operated in a broad range of power levels, ranging from 58 W to 250W. During the characterization test, several set-points were experienced. The software was able to control and monitor all the measurement data and to meet the requirements. Finally, the characterization of the HT-100 performance is presented.