Ion Propulsion Module design and mission performance

Abstract

This paper describes the design options, processes and tradeoffs that occur during the establishment of viable Ion Drive vehicle and mission designs. The options identify those internal vehicle design alternatives which are being considered for future Ion Drive missions, such as sunlight concentrating arrays and direct drive thrust subsystems, and their effect on mission performance. Also, the highly interactive nature of the Ion Drive design process, which occurs between the spacecraft and mission designers, is described. The results of design tradeoffs, performed for three Ion Drive comet rendezvous missions, are presented. These results include the following: (1) the power profile is determined primarily by the trajectory while second order effects include the solar cell characteristics and array concentration factor and degradation; and (2) the dominant parameter in mission performance determination, Ion Propulsion Module (IPM) mass, and IPM design, is the total cell power evaluated without concentration, at the beginning of life and at 1 AU.