When it comes to Hall electric thrusters, everyone always likes to describe them as "blowing a piece of paper". For example, the four Hall electric thrusters equipped in the "Tianhe" core module of my country's space station have a single thrust of only 80 millinewtons. , and this is still a very advanced level internationally. However, now, our equipment has been upgraded. The Hall electric pusher with the largest thrust has reached 5 N, which can almost lift a bottle of water.
Tianhe core module uses Hall electric thrusters
In fact, we have already completed this small goal in 2021. At that time, the HET-5000 100-kilowatt-class high-power Hall thruster prototype was successfully developed and achieved stable ignition operation. The design operating power is 50 to 100kW, the thrust is 2 to 5 N, and the efficiency exceeds 70%. In January this year, the measured specific impulse of the HET-2000HP ultra-high specific impulse Hall electric propulsion engine also exceeded 5300s, surpassing the Russian D-100 ultra-high specific impulse Hall electric propulsion engine with a maximum specific impulse of 4250s, setting a new record It has set the international highest specific impulse record for Hall electric propulsion under xenon working fluid.
Domestic Hall electric pushers
Some people may sneer at "blowing a piece of paper" or "raising a bottle of water", but in fact people who understand will naturally understand that when the Hall electric pusher works continuously, such a thrust The cumulative level is a huge improvement. What’s even more exciting is that two years ago, my country’s Hall electric thruster had just achieved a thrust of 1 N, and two years later it had doubled. If this continues, interstellar travel will no longer be a dream, right?
HET-5000 Ignition
Of course, currently, internationally, the verified maximum power of the Russian D-160 has reached 140kW. It uses bismuth metal propellant, the maximum specific impulse reaches 8000s, and the efficiency exceeds 70%. The American nested three-channel thruster X3 has a maximum power of 102kW, a maximum thrust of 5.4 N, and a maximum specific impulse of 2650s. It is said that even the record of X3 has been broken now. Public data of the most advanced Hall electric thruster in the United States It has reached 160kW. In the next step, our country will also move towards the goal of a maximum power of 100kW and a maximum specific impulse of 8000s.
The American X3 has a three-channel thruster, so its diameter is particularly large.
However, this can easily exceed 100 kW, which consumes a huge amount of electricity. With the current 18kW power generation level of the "Tianhe" core module, it is necessary to drive a 100 A multi-kW Hall electric pusher requires the solar wing to be expanded several times, and the power consumption of other equipment cannot be considered, which is obviously unrealistic.
Tianhe core module electric thrusters are ignited in orbit
The spacecraft's Hall electric thrusters currently have three methods to obtain strong power guarantee. The first is a space power station, which uses a centralized power generation system on the ground. They are deployed like gas stations in the lunar orbit to provide wireless power supply to the Earth-Moon ferry. This is one of the reasons why my country’s aerospace industry has proposed building a kilometer-level space power station in the past two years.
The purpose of the kilometer-level space power station is here, instead of transmitting electricity back to the earth.
The second method is to use a space nuclear reactor to generate electricity, and the spacecraft is propelled by electricity. This is a low-cost way to travel in high orbit or even deep space. The only path. The third method is to use a low-power and large-capacity nuclear battery and add a power transformation system, because even the Hall thruster is not always activated and does not need to be matched with a power supply.
Chang'e 4 is equipped with a nuclear battery
The above three methods will take time for the emergence of space power stations, but space reactors are already available abroad. For example, Russia's "Zeus" nuclear-powered space tug has already built a prototype. , using a megawatt-class gas-cooled fast neutron reactor and a helium-xenon mixture as a cooling system, which can provide a steady stream of energy to the Hall electric thruster.
Zeus has already produced the finished product
However, the most realistic solution for our country at present is to use low-power and large-capacity nuclear batteries and add power transformation system, such as the solar system edge detector we are developing, which is the Chinese version. There are three options for Voyager 1 and Voyager 2: nuclear battery + chemical propulsion, nuclear battery + electric propulsion, and space nuclear reactor + electric propulsion. The most likely one is nuclear battery + electric propulsion. Advance the plan.
The launch of the Chinese version of Voyager 1 will be faster than everyone thinks
