Deborah Levin
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ESI18 Deborah Levin Quad Chart
The advent and growth of small satellites has the potential to revolution humankind’s capabilities in outer space. However, these satellites are so small that it is challenging to integrate key systems necessary for them to realize their full potential. Propulsion is one of those missing key systems. Electric space propulsion (EP) is a type of propulsion for spacecraft that uses the onboard electrical power of the spacecraft. Electrical energy is used to energize and expel a working fluid/propellant mass, thereby generating a thrust force that propels the spacecraft, moving it around in outer space. EP is a promising propulsion approach for these small satellites, and numerous EP concepts are being explored for this purpose. Many EP systems create thrust force by expelling mass in the form of atoms and molecules that have a net electric charge. Examples of some of these systems are the electrospray, colloid, field-emission, ion, Hall-effect, microcathode arc, and vacuum arc thrusters. While the emitted charged particles provide thrust for the spacecraft, they are also known to contaminate and degrade sensitive components on the spacecraft. The mechanisms and processes that give rise to this contamination and degradation are poorly understood, especially for the new class of small satellites and the new EP concepts designed especially for them. Further, it is challenging to study and understand these interactions because the environment in which they occur (outer space) cannot be precisely replicated on Earth’s surface. This project focuses on developing models, benchmarked with fundamental experiments, that predict the interactions between EP expelled charged particles and small satellites. Further, this project pays close attention to the differences between the ground-based testing facility environment (in which almost all model validation and benchmark data are acquired) and the real outer space environment. Specifically, the project focuses on kinetic modeling of the charged heavy molecular particles emitted by ionic liquid electrospray EP thrusters, and their subsequent interactions with the ambient space environment, small satellite surfaces, and ground-based test facility surfaces.