Dual-Stage 4-Grid

The Dual-Stage 4-Grid (DS4G) is an electrostatic ion thruster design currently under development by the European Space Agency, in collaboration with the Australian National University. The design was derived by D. Fern from Controlled Thermonuclear Reactor experiments that use a 4-grid mechanism to accelerate ion beams.

A 4-grid ion thruster with only 0.2 m diameter is projected to absorb 250 kW power. With that energy input rate, the thruster could produce a thrust of 2.5 N. The specific impulse (a measure of fuel efficiency), could reach 19,300 s at an exhaust velocity of 210 km/s if xenon propellant were used.[1] The potentially attainable power and thrust densities would substantially extend the power absorption of current ion thrusters to far more than 100 kW. These characteristics facilitate the development of ion thrusters that can result in extraordinary high-end velocities.[1]

Like with thruster concepts such as VASIMR, the dual-stage-4-grid ion thrusters are mainly limited by the necessary power supply for their operation. For example, if solar panels were to supply more than 250 kW, the size of the solar array would surpass the size of the solar panels of the International Space Station. To provide 250 kW with Stirling radioisotope generators would require roughly 1 tonne of plutonium-238 (for which the US stockpile as of 2013 was no more than 20 kg[2]), and so a nuclear thermal reactor would be needed.

References

  1. 1 2 THE INNOVATIVE DUAL-STAGE 4-GRID ION THRUSTER CONCEPT – THEORY AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
  2. Mosher, Dave. "NASA's Plutonium Problem Could End Deep-Space Exploration". Wired. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
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