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Reader, P. D.

Publications and source records attributed to Reader, P. D..

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1972

Electrostatic thrusters.

The current status of research and development programs on electrostatic thrusters is reviewed. Current programs that utilize mercury electron-bombardment thrusters range from 5- to 30-cm in diameter. Recent progress on the 5-cm thruster has emphasized durability, with accelerator time exceeding 6300 hours and total time on the rest of the thruster exceeding 8300 hours. Recent progress on the 30-cm thruster has been outstanding in dished-grid accelerator systems. Ion beams up to 5 amperes have been obtained for short periods with 1000 volts net accelerating potential difference. The cesium electron-bombardment and cesium contact programs are also described.

Kaufman, H. R.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Operation of an electron-bombardment ion source using various gases

An electron-bombardment ion thruster of the SERT 2 type was operated with xenon, krypton, argon, neon, nitrogen, helium, and carbon dioxide. The discharge performance with xenon, krypton, and argon was similar to that obtained previously with mercury. Mass spectrometer data indicated that the xenon contained no significant multiple ionization. Restriction of the beam area, with an associated decrease in discharge potential, was necessary to reduce multiple ionization with argon to a negligible level. This modification also resulted in more stable operation of the thruster. Performance with the remaining gases was poor because the basic thruster designed was optimized for operation with mercury.

Byers, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Kaufman thruster development at Lewis Research Center (LeRC)

The current status of research programs on mercury electron bombardment thrusters is reviewed. Future thruster requirements predicted from mission analysis are briefly discussed to establish the relationship with present programs. Thrusters ranging in size from 5 to 150 cm diameter are described. These thrusters have possible near to far term applications extending from stationkeeping to primary propulsion. Beam currents range from 10 mA at to 25 A at accelerating potentials of 500 to 5000 V.

Kerslake, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Kaufman thruster development at Lewis Research Center

The current status of research programs on mercury electron-bombardment thrusters is reviewed. Future thruster requirements predicted from mission analysis are briefly discussed to establish the relationship with present programs. Thrusters ranging in size from 5 to 150 cm diameter are described. These thrusters have possible near to far term applications extending from station keeping to primary propulsion. Beam currents range from 10 mA to 25 A at accelerating potentials of 500 to 5000 V.

Kerslake, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Electron-bombardment ion source operation using various gases.

Description of a modified flight-type SERT II ion thruster operated with xenon, krypton, argon, neon, nitrogen, helium, and carbon dioxide. The discharge performance with xenon, krypton, and argon was found to be similar to that obtained previously with mercury. Mass spectrometer data indicated that xenon could be operated efficiently with no significant multiple ionization. Restriction of the beam area, with an associated decrease in discharge potential, was necessary to reduce multiple ionization with argon to a negligible level. This modification also resulted in more stable operation of the thruster. Performance with the remaining gases was poor, but some future performance improvements may be realizable.

Byers, D. C.↗