Development of a stand for measuring thrust of micro-jet thrusters based on machine vision

Abstract

In the presented work, the issues of measuring the thrust force of spacecraft thrusters are considered. A program for determining the thrust force based on machine vision has been developed. A mathematical model of the mechanical part of the stand has been compiled. Numerical modeling of the compiled system of equations is carried out. The simulation results are processed using the developed program. The relative error of misalignment is no more than 5 %. Field experiments are carried out and the thrust levels of the ion thruster are measured. A comparative analysis of the experimental results obtained with a mathematical model is shown. Experimental studies have been conducted to determine the thrust of a prototype arcjet thruster using a stand based on machine vision and using a stand based on a displacement sensor. The discrepancy in the results of the thrust force is  5,6 %.

Keywords

• ion thruster
• arcjet thruster
• jet thruster
• thrust measurement stand
• small spacecraft
• machine vision