Design and development of a Micropound Extended Range Thrust Stand (MERTS)

Abstract

The development and operation of a micropound extended range thrust stand are considered. A cesium ion engine was tested in order to determine the measurement accuracy of the apparatus and to verify the calibration techniques used. The ion engine was tracked to within 5 percent. A check of the thrust stand calibration factor against that of the ion engine calibration factor showed a 4.3 percent difference.