A mission comparison of solar electric propulsion vehicles with Hall effect and gridded ion thrusters utilizing bismuth, xenon, and krypton propellant options is presented. Three example missions are examined: (1) geosynchronous transfer orbit to geostationary orbit, (2) high Earth orbit to the near Earth asteroid 2008 EA9, and (3) high Earth orbit to Mars orbit at the Mars moon Phobos. Trades of power level and specific impulse are performed for each mission, recommended power level and specific impulse ranges are provided, and recommendations for potential future work are provided.
Mission Comparison of Hall Effect and Gridded Ion Thrusters Utilizing Various Propellant Options
MBE: Model Based Engineering, MDAO: Multi-Disciplinary Analysis and Optimization
Abstract