Project description

1. HELICON GRIDDED THRUSTER
RADIO-FREQUENCY THRUSTER WITH EXTERNAL MAGNETIC FIELD
Avant – Space Systems LLC
Aim of the project: boosting economic effectiveness for satellite missions and supporting commercial market development.

2. RF ion thruster’s distinguishing feature is the presence of magnetic field with parameters chosen to fit
the conditions of resonant excitation in plasma. The way the discharge is conducted in the discharge
chamber allows reducing the power consumed per mN of thrust significantly compared to existing
solutions. This broadens the range of possible applications of the thruster in various space missions.
GT-100 GT-50
Power, W 360/520/700 70/130/300
Thrust, mN 14/20/27 3/6/12
Specific impulse, s 2400/3200/3800 1000/1200/3500
Propellant Xenon Xenon
Lifetime, h > 20 000 > 20 000
Mass, kg 1.2 0.7
Main competitive advantages:
 High specific impulse
 High energy effectiveness
 Stable characteristics and long life
 Low-cost
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HELICON GRIDDED THRUSTER

3. APPLICATIONS
LEO constellations GEO spacecraft Deep space probes
Thrusters for deep space missions normally
require:
• High specific impulse
• Long lifetime
• Stable performance
• Low power consumption
The thruster being developed aims at those
goals in order to be a viable option for future
deep space missions.
*A type of manoeuvers has been studied where orbit RAAN steadily changes due to a small inclination difference between phasing and target orbits (4° in this case), and the said difference is maintained by the thruster. As an example, the results are shown for 22° RAAN shift (this corresponds
to a RAAN difference between neighbouring planes in a constellation with a total of 9 planes).
**A combined chemical-electric orbit raising missions were studied. The graph shows the fraction of mass of a hypothetical GEO satellite left after GEO-injection (after chemical/electrical orbit raising) versus time taken for the raising, for different delta-v distribution between chemical and
electrical parts. It is assumed that LV injects the satellite into a high circular orbit – this way the usage of electrical orbit rising would be optimised.
1 - 50% of initial satellite mass is consumed by chemical orbit raising
2 - 30% of initial satellite mass is consumed by chemical orbit raising 3/7
• Non-coplanar orbit change
• In-orbit phasing
• Stationkeeping
• Deorbiting
• Orbit rising to GEO
• Stationkeeping
• Transfer to graveyard orbit

4. 1 advantage – improved energy deposition (power input)
In inductive RF discharge plasma often consumes only part of
the total RF-generator power, a large part of power may be
dissipated in external circuit. Discharge in external magnetic
field where induction satisfy criteria of resonant excitation of
waves in plasma helps to significantly increase energy
efficiency.
2 advantage – increased ion current
In external magnetic field directed along the axis of the ion
thruster an ion drifts slower to the gas discharge chamber
walls which increases plasma density and ion current. Thus
thrust and specific impulse raise.
Analogue Stage Power, W Thrust, mН Specific impulse, s
1. GT – 100 Developing 360/520/700 14/20/27 2400/3200/3800
2. GT – 50 Developing 70/130/300 3/6/12 1000/1200/3500
3. RIT 10 EVO On market 145/435/760 5/15/25 1900/3000/3200
4. 13-cm XIPS On market 450 18 2350
5. BIT-7 Developing 460 11 3300
6. SPT-50М Developing 316 14 900
7. APPT-155М Developing 70 - 140 1.4 - 2.8 1320
8. КМ-45 On market 200-450 10-28 1250-1500
MARKETABILITY
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5.  A grant acquired from Skolkovo Foundation (Feb. 2017 - Feb. 2018)
 An R&D team formed (5 researchers, 5 engineers, 4 executive workers)
 Thruster performance predictions made for thruster being developed based on
physical laws and specially designed programs
 Various space missions analyzed and market study performed to select thruster
operation modes
 Manufacturing technology developed for principal structural elements
 Operational modes selected and experimental performance acquired for GT-100
PROJECT STATUS
R&D department headquartered in the laboratory of the Physical
Electronics department of the Lomonosov Moscow State University
Ossovskiy, Anton
CEO
Founder and CEO of one of the
benchmark companies in procuring
electronic parts for aerospace industry.
Kralkina, Elena
Head of research
D. Sc. in Physics and Mathematics
Has long-term R&D experience in high-
frequency ion thrusters and plasma physics.
KEY PERSONNEL
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6. Year Development stage Stage objectives
2017 Laboratory model development
Configuring thruster parameters, elaborating technological solutions
Searching industrial partners for engr. model manufacturing
Performing calibration tests
Working out SoWs for thruster subsystems (power supply & control unit, propellant storage and
delivery system)
2018 Engr. model development
Power supply & control unit development
Propellant storage and delivery system development
Rotating thruster platform development
Performing qualification tests for engr. model
2019
2020
Prototype development
Test flight
Establishing industrial processes in accordance with international norms
Adapting design concepts to space mission requirements
Running full cycle of preflight tests
Performing a thruster burn in a space mission
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Currently the project requires:
• additional investments
• reinforcing the team with new specialists
• negotiating with satellite manufacturers and executing preliminary contracts
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7. Contact person: Kharlan Yana
E-mail: kharlan@avantspace.com
Tel.: +7 926 529 21 34