Experimental investigations of nitrogen arcjet thruster with control unit for small spacecrafts

Abstract

The article presents the experimental study results of a nitrogen arcjet thruster prototype for small spacecrafts with a control unit, having thrust up to 38 mN and power consumption up to 160 W. As the result of the experimental studies, the measured values were obtained for the temperature at the nozzle exit and surface and for the pressure in the arcjet thruster chamber. Thanks to the measured parameters, the main characteristics of the arcjet thruster were calculated through gas-dynamic functions of the gas flow. Minimal values for power consumption were determined to ensure stable operation of the arcjet thruster. The validity of the proposed mathematical model was verified by visual detection of active nitrogen formation in a vacuum chamber.