Colloid Microthruster Flight Performance Results from Space Technology 7 Disturbance Reduction System

Abstract

Space Technology 7 Disturbance Reduction System (ST7-DRS) is a NASA technology demonstration payload as part of the ESA LISA Pathfinder (LPF) mission, which launched on December 3, 2015. The ST7-DRS payload includes colloid microthrusters as part of a drag-free dynamic control system (DCS) hosted on an integrated avionics unit (IAU) with spacecraft attitude and test mass position provided by the LPF spacecraft computer and the highly sensitive gravitational reference sensor (GRS) as part of the LISA Technology Package (LTP). The objective of the DRS was to validate two technologies: colloid micro-Newton thrusters (CMNT) to provide low-noise control capability of the spacecraft, and drag-free flight control. The CMNT were developed by Busek Co., Inc., in a partnership with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the DCS algorithms and flight software were developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). ST7-DRS demonstrated drag-free operation with 10nmHz level precision spacecraft position control along the primary axis of the LTP using eight CMNTs that provided 5-30 N each with 0.1 N precision. The DCS and CMNTs performed as required and as expected from ground test results, meeting all Level 1 requirements based on on-orbit data and analysis. DRS microthrusters operated for 2400 hours in flight during commissioning activities, a 90-day experiment and the extended mission. This mission represents the first validated demonstration of electrospray thrusters in space, providing precision spacecraft control and drag-free operation in a flight environment with applications to future gravitational wave observatories like LISA.