astronomy

NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness

NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness rather than just read about it. In short: The NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness (NSTAR) is a type of spacecraft ion thruster called electrostatic ion thruster. It is a highly efficient low-thrust spacecraft propulsion running on electrical power generated by solar arrays.

Key takeaways

NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness (NSTAR) is a type of spacecraft ion thruster called electrostatic ion thruster. It is a highly efficient low-thrust spacecraft propulsion running on electrical power generated by solar arrays. It uses high-voltage electrodes (including two fine grids) to accelerate ions with electrostatic forces.

Development and performance

The purpose of NSTAR program was to develop a xenon-fueled ion propulsion system for deep space missions. The NSTAR electrostatic ion thruster was developed at NASA's Glenn Research Center and manufactured by Hughes, and Spectrum Astro, Inc. in the early 1990s. The feed system development was a collaborative effort between JPL and Moog Inc. The ions are accelerated through two fine grids with roughly a 1300 V difference between them for 2.3 kW operation, with a thrust of 20-92 mN, a specific impulse of 19000-30500 N·s/kg (1950-3100 s) and a total impulse capability of 2.65 × 106 Ns on DS1. In 1996, the prototype engine endured 8000 hours of continuous operation in a vacuum chamber that simulates conditions of outer space. The results of the prototyping were used to define the design of flight hardware that was built for Deep Space 1 probe. One of the challenges was developing a compact and light weight power processing unit that converts power from the solar arrays into the voltages needed by the engine.

Performance The engine achieves a specific impulse of up to three thousand seconds. This is an order of magnitude higher than traditional space propulsion methods, resulting in a mass savings of approximately half. Although the engine produces just 92 millinewtons (0.331 ounce-force) thrust at maximum power (2,100W on DS1 mission), the craft achieved high speed because ion engines thrust continuously for long periods of time. "The 30-cm ion thruster operates over a 0.5 kW to 2.3 kW input power range providing thrust from 19 mN to 92 mN. The specific impulse ranges from 1900 s at 0.5 kW to 3100 s at 2.3 kW."

Applications

Deep Space The NSTAR ion thruster was first used on the Deep Space 1 (DS1) spacecraft, launched on 24 October 1998. The Deep Space mission carried out a flyby of asteroid 9969 Braille and Comet Borrelly. Deep Space 1 had 178 pounds (81 kilograms) of xenon propellant, with a total impulse capability of 2.65 × 106 Ns and was capable of increasing the speed of DS1 by 7900 miles per hour (12,700 kilometers per hour, 3.58 km/s) over the course of the mission. It used 2.3 kW of electrical power and was the primary propulsion for the probe.

Dawn The second interplanetary mission using NSTAR engine was the Dawn spacecraft, launched in 2007 with three redundant units with a 30 cm diameter each. Dawn is the first NASA exploratory mission to use ion propulsion to enter and leave more than one orbit. Dawn carried 425 kg (937 lb) of on-board xenon propellant, and was able to perform a velocity change of 25,700 mph (11.49 km/s) over the mission.

Proposed uses As of 2009 NASA engineers state that NSTAR engines, in the 5-kilowatt and 0.04 pound-thrust range, are candidates for propelling spacecraft to Europa, Pluto, and other small bodies in deep space.

See also Electrically powered spacecraft propulsion NEXT (ion thruster) – Space propulsion system, a gridded electrostatic ion thruster Advanced Electric Propulsion System – Spacecraft propulsion system by NASA. 50kW Hall-effect thrusters, now for Lunar Gateway

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness

In research: NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Electrostatics, Ion engines, Spacecraft electric propulsion, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness in simple terms?

Why does NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness.