HEMPT-NG2 EP components
In course of the precursor HEMPT-NG project, a set of EP components has been developed, that form a full EP-System as indicated in the picture on the right. This system provides higher modularity and flexibility in the allocation on spacecraft level resulting in an easier allocation, as specific unit constraints combination is avoided.
This set of components has been tested on bread board / engineering models up to system level tests confirming their interoperability, versatility and most important the absence of necessity for coupling testing on recurring units.
HEMPT-NG2 Components
The HEMPT EV0 module is composed of a thruster and of a neutralizer compensating the resulting electric charge of the spacecraft The thurster integrates the magnetic system, the discharge channel, the anode, which performs the function of a gas distributor in the discharge channel too, the radiator, which as a part of mechanical interface.
More about the HTM EV0 module
For the PPUs Thales decided to implement two PPU manufacturers, each optimizing, manufacturing and qualifying their solutions and finally supporting the final system tests as Leo Application are usually constellations with a large number of satellites manufactured in a very short period. Suppliers for such constellation have to demonstrate the manufacturing capability especially for critical single sources.
PPUThe FMS for HEMPT-NG2 consists of an electronic pressure regulator (EPR) and compact flow control unit, called µFCU-Unit, both supplied by AST, a supplier in Germany. These elements reached TRL6 within FP7 funded projects at AST and tested in full system tests inside the first HEMPT-NG program.
FCU