Fundamental Research of High Specific Impulse Microwave Discharge Ion Engine

An ion engine with 10,000sec-class high specific impulse is expected as primary propulsion for interplanetary space mission with extremely high delta-V, and needs high voltage for ion acceleration over 10kV. The microwave discharge ion source without solid electrodes can supply sophisticated technologies and simple composition on electrical isolation for such a high voltage. New electro-static grid made of carbon-carbon composite material was fabricated based on the numerical simulation of “igx” code. The “μ10HIsp” ion engine combining the ECR ion source, microwave discharge neutralizer, DC blocks, propellant isolators, carbon-carbon composite grid and so on generated successfully a plasma beam with 10,000sec specific impulse using 15kV acceleration voltage.