A magnetically levitated thrust balance was designed, constructed, and characterized to directly measure μNewton levels of thrust produced by CubeSat compatible ion Electrospray thrusters developed at MIT. The measurement principle relies on analyzing the angular motion of a magnetically levitated CubeSat onto which the thrusters apply a torque when fired. The CubeSat which carries thrusters, batteries, radio, and high voltage electronics is magnetically levitated inside a vacuum chamber. The magnetic levitation and high vacuum provide a zero-friction environment for the thrusters to actuate. The thrusters are placed on the satellite in such a way to produce a net torque when fired. Once the CubeSat is levitating and under vacuum conditions, the thrusters are fired and the corresponding rotational movement of the satellite is analyzed to calculate thrust. Initial thrust results for the ion Electrospray thrusters are presented. The specific setup of the instrument allows the measurement of other parameters of interest such as spacecraft-charging as well as thruster attitude control performance
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