Electric Propulsion for Earth-Orbiting Satellites

DURATION: TWO DAYS
COURSE NO.: 2125

This course covers the basics of electric propulsion (EP) for near-Earth space. It will get you calibrated in a hurry on all important aspects of the complex interactions among launch vehicles, spacecraft, EP maneuvers and EP devices. Several exemplary maneuvers are included to illustrate the fundamental principles. Electric propulsion devices covered are hydrazine arc jets, Hall effect xenon ion thrusters, and gridded xenon ion thrusters. Maneuvers discussed are orbit raising, station keeping, and repositioning. LEO, MEO and GEO satellites are all covered.

COURSE MATERIALS:
Include extensive notes and reference materials.

Those who need a working knowledge of applied electric propulsion, people with broad career backgrounds: management, marketing, satellite design, engineering, research and development, etc. Those who will benefit the most from this course are launch vehicle people and those in the business of satellite design and operation of near-Earth satellites.

Basic understanding of practical electric propulsion devices. The complementary nature chemical and electric propulsion. Satellite characteristics conducive to electric propulsion. Survey of propulsion tasks for various satellites.

1. Fundamental Equations of Orbital Mechanics.
   

   LEO, MEO, GPS AND GEO.

2. Description of Electric Propulsion Devices.
   

   What they look like, how they work, benefits and drawbacks, state of development, chemical and electric propulsion and the bottom line: saving money.

3. Communications Satellites: The Emerging Picture.
   

4. Interaction of Electric Propulsion with Satellites, Environment.
   

   Difficult propulsion tasks, high mass long lifetime high power to mass ratio, and recent trends in satellite design.

5. Launch Vehicle Diversity.
   

6. Maneuvering with Electric Propulsion.
   

   In-plane Maneuvers: Orbit Raising, Repositioning. Out-of-plane Maneuvers: NSSK, Plane Change.