Performance Comparison Between a Magnesium- and Xenon-Fueled 2 Kilowatt Hall Thruster

The performance metrics of a 2-kW-class thruster operated using magnesium propellant were measured and compared to the performance of the same thruster operated using xenon propellant. When operated with magnesium at a 7 A discharge current, the thruster had thrust ranging from 34±0.8 mN at 200 V using 1.8 mg/s of propellant to 39±1.5 mN at 300 V using 1.8 mg/s of propellant. The thrust-to-power ratio ranged from 24±0.5 mN/kW at 200 V to 18±0.7 mN/kW at 300 V. At a 200 V discharge voltage, the specific impulse was 1930±49 s at 23±5.0% efficiency (at 7 A using 1.8 mg/s). At a 300 V discharge voltage, the specific impulse was 2420±130 s at 21±6.4% efficiency (at 5 A using 1.1 mg/s). The performance of the thruster using magnesium propellant was compared to xenon performance at matched molar propellant flow rates: 5 mg/s for xenon and 1.1 mg/s for magnesium. The xenon-fueled thruster produced 76±1.5 mN of thrust, with a specific impulse of 1550±70 s, at an efficiency of 40±2.0% compared to the magnesium-fueled thruster, which produced 27±1.2 mN of thrust, with a specific impulse of 2420±130 s, at an efficiency of 21±6.4%.