Performance Analysis Ionic Thruster and Grid Configuration

Electric propulsion is a technology aimed at achieving thrust with high exhaust velocities, which results in a reduction in the amount of propellant required for a given space mission or application compared to other conventional propulsion methods. Reduced propellant mass can significantly decrease the launch mass of a spacecraft or satellite, leading to lower costs from the use of smaller launch vehicles to deliver a desired mass into a given orbit or to a deep-space target. In general, electric propulsion (EP) encompasses any propulsion technology in which electricity used to increase the propellant exhaust velocity. Naturally, spacecraft designers are then concerned with providing the electrical power that the thruster requires to produce a given thrust, as well as with dissipating the thermal power that the thruster generates as waste heat. Total voltage across the screen and accelerator grid take 1-2 kV and screen grid voltage is 200 V. Total voltage and ion current density applied in finding the distance between screen grid and accelerator grid. Parameters of the grid are to get thruster parameters such as thrust force, exhaust velocity, specific impulse and thruster efficiency.