Abstract
Dawn’s ion propulsion system (IPS) is the most advanced propulsion system ever built for a deep-space mission. Aside from the Mars gravity assist it provides all of the post-launch ΔV required for the mission including the heliocentric transfer to Vesta, orbit capture at Vesta, transfer to various Vesta science orbits, escape from Vesta, the heliocentric transfer to Ceres, orbit capture at Ceres, and transfer to the different Ceres science orbits. The ion propulsion system provides a total ΔV of nearly 11 km/s, comparable to the ΔV provided by the 3-stage launch vehicle, and a total impulse of 1.2×107 N s.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
J.R. Brophy et al., Ion propulsion system (NSTAR) DS1 technology validation report. JPL Publication 00-10, October 2000
J.R. Brophy, D.E. Brinza, J.E. Polk, M.D. Henry, A. Sengupta, The DS1 hyper-extended mission, in AIAA-2002-3673, presented at the 2002 Joint Propulsion Conference, Indianapolis, IN, July 7–10, 2002
G.B. Ganapathi, C.S. Engelbrecht, Post-launch performance characterization of the xenon feed—system on deep space one, in AIAA 99-2273, presented at the 35th AIAA/ASME/SAEIASEE Joint Propulsion, Conference and Exhibit, 20–24 June, 1999, Los Angeles, CA
C.J. Lo et al., Use of cumulative degradation factor prediction and life test result of the thruster gimbal assembly actuator for the Dawn flight project, NASA CR-2009-215681, October 2009
J.E. Polk et al., Validation of the NSTAR ion propulsion system on the Deep Space One mission: overview and initial results, in AIAA 99-2274, presented at the 35th AIAA/ASME/SAEIASEE Joint Propulsion, Conference and Exhibit, 20–24 June, 1999, Los Angeles, CA
V.K. Rawlin et al., NSTAR flight thruster qualification testing, in AIAA-98-3936, presented at the 37th AIAA/ASME/SAEIASEE Joint Propulsion, Conference and Exhibit, 1998
M.D. Rayman, The successful conclusion of the Deep Space 1 mission: important results without a flashy title. Space Technol. 23(2–3), 185–196 (2003)
M.D. Rayman, P. Varghese, The Deep Space 1 extended mission. Acta Astronaut. 48(5–12), 693–705 (2001)
A. Sengupta et al., The 30,000-hour extended-life test of the Deep Space 1 flight spare ion thruster, NASA/TP 2004-213391, March 2005
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Brophy, J. (2011). The Dawn Ion Propulsion System. In: Russell, C., Raymond, C. (eds) The Dawn Mission to Minor Planets 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4903-4_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4903-4_11
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-4902-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-4903-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)