Satellite Technology

(EAS3802)
2017/2018-S2

Propulsion Subsystem
Solar Electric Propulsion Subsystem Architecture
(ESMO MISSION)
BARDIA KIASAT (176297)
NUR AMIRAH BINTI ZAINAL ABIDIN (165239)
Abstract

 The paper presents the results of the study for the solar electric
propulsion subsystem selected for the ESA European Student Moon
Orbiter spacecraft, under ESA funding.
 To minimize mass, a so-called “all electric” approach is adopted based
around the re-use of a flight-spare GOCE T5 gridded ion engine and the
introduction of hollow cathode thrusters (HCTs) for attitude control
functions.
 Three different subsystem architectures are considered and analyzed
with reference to the mass, cost, risk and level of integration between
the HCTs and the T5.
 The study also demonstrates how an increase in the T5 specific impulse
to higher values than used on GOCE does not offer substantial system
level mass savings in this particular case.
Intro…

 The European Student Moon Orbiter (ESMO) is a spacecraft that has

been designed and is planned to be built by student teams from across
member and cooperating states of the European Space Agency (ESA)
 The spacecraft will use its on-board propulsion system for transfer to
lunar orbit from a highly elliptical, low inclination geostationary
transfer orbit (GTO), for lunar-orbit insertion and also for final orbit
transfer to a low-altitude polar orbit around the Moon.
 Two different spacecraft designs have been considered in parallel by
ESA. One is based on a chemical propulsion system, the other relies
solely upon solar electric propulsion (SEP).
ESMO MISSION
 The European Student Moon Orbiter (ESMO) is the fourth
mission in ESA’s Education Satellite Programme.
 The ESMO spacecraft was designed to be launched into
Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).
 To launch the first lunar spacecraft to be designed, built and
operated by students across ESA Member States and ESA
Cooperating States.

MISSION OBJECTIVES
 To place and operate the spacecraft in a lunar orbit.
 To acquire images of the Moon from a stable lunar orbit and
transmit them back to Earth for education outreach
purposes.
 To perform new measurements relevant to advanced
technology demonstration, lunar science and exploration.
TECHNICAL DATA OF ESMO SATELLITE
Dimensions 120 x 110 x 100 cm
Mass 265 kg (incl. 93 kg propellant)
Expected lifetime 11 months (6 months lunar operations)
Lunar orbit Periapsis altitude 280 km; apoapsis altitude 16400 km; inclination 56°
Attitude and Orbit Control 3-axis stabilised: 2 star trackers, 4 sun sensors, 2 IMUs, 4 reaction wheels, 4
System cold gas thrusters
On-board data handling 2 ESA LEON2 processors (dual redundant) running data handling software
(command timeline and simple FDIR) and AOCS software; 32MB Serial Flash
for payload data storage; CANbus data interfaces
Communications Low Gain Antennas for omni-directional coverage; S-band transponder with
PSK-PM modulation and range & range rate capability for radio-navigation; 8
kbps downlink / 4 kbps uplink between Moon and Earth stations
Electrical power system 2 body-mounted 3J GaAs solar panels for 170W BOL power & 122W EOL
power; 24-29 V unregulated bus; 15 Ah capacity Li-ion batteries
Propulsion 4 liquid MON/MMH bipropellant thrusters: 22 N thrust each, 285 s specific
impulse (modulated by AOCS software during burns for reaction control);
Delta-V of 1150 m/s
Structure Al honeycomb central thrust tube with load bearing struts for launch adapter
mating
Thermal control Passive: MLI & surface coatings
Active: local heaters for eclipse (e.g. propellant tanks)
Ground segment Ground stations: Villafranca 15m S-band dish for TT&C; Raisting 30m S-band
dish for payload downlink; Perth/Kourou for LEOP/manoeuvres
SOLAR ELECTRIC PROPULSION SUBSYSTEM (SEP)
1. The baseline design comprises:
 A single flight spare T5 GOCE GIT
 Eight HCTs (to provide some level of redundancy)
 A T5 PPU
 A HCT PPU
 A FCU able to supply both the HCTs and the T5 GIT
 A pressurized Xenon tank
2. Primary propulsion : gridded ion thruster/ engine and where
hollow cathode thrusters are used to unload momentum from the
reaction wheels. The gridded ion engine is based on the flight
model hardware of the GOCE (Gravity and Ocean Open Circulation
Explorer) mission T5 GIE, developed by QinetiQ (Edwards et al.,
2004), whereas the HCTs to be used for AOCS will be based on the
T5 discharge cathode.
SEP subsystem design options
 Option 1 – High mass, low risk, low cost
SEP subsystem design options
 Option 2 – Medium mass, low risk, low cost
SEP subsystem design options
 Option 3 – Low mass, high risk, high cost
T5 Hollow Cathode Thruster
Gridded ion thruster schematic (T5)
Results
T5 Hollow Cathode Thruster Analysis
Measurements of specific impulse with mass
flowrate
Dependence of specific impulse on specific power at
the various current levels with argon for the T5FO
cathode
Thrust and specific impulse attained at various
current conditions in the T5 cathode
T6 Hollow Cathode Thruster Analysis
Specific impulse reached with the modified T6
hollow cathode at various current conditions and
mass flow rates with xenon and argon.
Relationship between specific impulse and specific power for
the T6 at various current levels with xenon and argon
Thrust efficiency of the T6 cathode operating at various
discharge currents on argon with respect to specific impulse
Conclusion

 An all-electric spacecraft appears to be a feasible option for the ESMO

mission, with a high-performing propulsion system capable of
satisfying the main mission requirements within the demanding mass
constraints of a small spacecraft mission.
 The difference in mass between the proposed SEP subsystem and a
Chemical propulsion subsystem for ESMO has been analyzed to be
insignificant in the context of launch margins.
 The mission duration for ESMO with a SEP subsystem has been
determined to be of the order of 21 months due to the long transfer
time and therefore mission reliability could be questioned due to the
high likelihood that different generations of students would need to be
involved in the operation of the spacecraft.