Thruster
HiPEP Multiple-Cathode Discharge Chamber (MCDC)

LM4 operation with beam extraction in PEPL LVTF (chamber lights on). The engine is mounted on the thrust stand. The camera in mounted to an arm (shown in foreground) that is attached to a rotational theta table mounted above the engine.
Developed
?
Tested at PEPL
2004 – 2005
Developer
NASA GRC
NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) developed the 30-kW High Power Electric Propulsion (HiPEP) ion thruster for NASA’s nuclear-powered Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO). During 2002-2005, the primary objective of the NASA-GRC funded Multiple-Cathode Discharge Chamber (MCDC) project was to investigate the benefits of using two or more discharge cathodes to extend thruster life for JIMO.
Selected Publications
Performance of the H9 Magnetically Shielded Hall Thrusters
Cusson, S. E., Hofer, R. R., Lobbia, R. B., Jorns, B. A., and Gallimore, A. D.
The H9 Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster
Hofer, R.R., Cusson, S.E., Lobbia, R.B., and Gallimore, A.D.
Dispersion relation measurements of plasma modes in the near-field plume of a 9-kW magnetically shielded thruster
Brown, Z. A., and Jorns, B. A.
Experimental Evidence for Ion Acoustic Solitons in the Plume of a Hollow Cathode
Georgin, M.P., Jorns, B.A., and Gallimore, A.D.
Ion Acoustic Turbulence in the Hollow Cathode Plume of a Hall Effect Thruster
Cusson, S.E., Brown., Z, Dale, E.T., Jorns, B.A., and Gallimore, A.D.
Non-Invasive Characterization of the Ionization Region of a Hall Effect Thruster
Dale, E.T. and Jorns, B.A.
Spatial Evolution of Plasma Waves in the Near-field of a Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster
Brown, Z. and Jorns, B.A.
Impact of Neutral Density on the Magnetic Shielding of Hall Thrusters
Cusson, S.E., Jorns, B.A., and Gallimore, A.D.
Two-zone Hall thruster breathing mode mechanism, Part II: Experiment
Dale, E.T., and Jorns, B.A.
Experimental Correlation between Anomalous Electron Collision Frequency and Plasma Turbulence in a Hall Effect Thruster
Brown, Z.A, Dale, E., and Jorns, B.A.
Non-invasive in situ measurement of the near-wall ion kinetic energy in a magnetically shielded Hall thruster
Cusson, Sarah E.