Hall thruster development for Japanese space propulsion programs

Three different types of high power Hall thrusters—anode layer type, magnetic layer type with high specific impulse, and magnetic layer type with dual mode operation (high thrust mode and high specific impulse mode)—have been developed, and the thrust performance of each thruster has been evaluated. The thrust of the anode layer type thruster is in the range of 19–219 mN, with power in the range of 325–4500 W. The thrust of the high specific impulse magnetic layer type thruster was 102 mN, with specific impulse of 3300 s. The thrust of the bimodal operation magnetic layer thruster was 385 mN with specific impulse of 1200 s, and 300 mN with specific impulse of 2330 s. The performance of these thrusters demonstrates that the Japanese electric propulsion community has the capability to develop a thruster for commercial use.