American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 1 Performance Characterization and Vibration Test of the CAM200 Low Power Hall Thruster Dan Lev 1 , Daniel Katz Franco 2 , Raanan Eytan 3 and Leonid Appel 4 Rafael - Advanced Defense Systems, Haifa, Israel, 3102102 In this paper we present two of the main activities conducted as part of the CAM200 Hall thruster development campaign at Rafael: thruster performance characterization and vibration test. We present the CAM200 thruster performance maps and emphasize the unusually high performance; i.e. thrust, Isp and efficiency (12mN, 1,550sec and 45% @200W respectively). We present the vibration test campaign in which we examined the possible effects of the maximum expected launch loads on thruster performance and structural integrity. Using resonance sweeps we show that the thruster’s structural Eigen frequencies are well above the minimum allowed value of 140 Hz. Additionally, no performance degradation, due to applying launch loads, was observed. Lastly, the thruster’s structural integrity was preserved throughout all vibration tests. Nomenclature I m = current to magnet coils Isp = specific impulse P d = discharge power T = thrust V d = discharge voltage ṁ = mass flow rate η = efficiency I. Introduction UE to their small size micro-satellites (10-100 kg) are power limited and normally utilize chemical propulsion to fulfill their propulsion requirements. However, the use of high efficiency low power (<300W) electric propulsion with Hall Effect Thrusters (HET) can greaty improve satellite capability and allow for the execution of a veriety of missions, particularly in Low Earth Orbits (LEO). Additionally, thanks to the associated high specific impulse the use of low power HETs allows for propellant mass savings; therefore reducing the overall satellite mass and increasing payload mass. Although HET technology carries these advantages at power levels below about 500W HETs suffer from low efficiency and short operating lifetime relative to their higher power cousins. 1,2 The Coaxial Anode Magneto-Isolated Longitudinal Anode (CAMILA) HET confronts these low power HET weaknesses. The CAMILA HET has been developed and patented by Kapulkin et al 3 from the Asher Space Research Institute (ASRI) at the Technion. The CAMILA HET consists of an electrically floating gas distributer and a co-axial anode, where a longitudinal magnetic field is induced by dedicated anode coils and a radial magnetic field configuration at the thruster exit plane, which is induced by a conventional 1 Ph.D., Electric Propulsion R&D Responsible, Rafael, Manor Division, Space Department, dan.r.lev@gmail.com. 2 Electric Propulsion Engineer, Rafael, Manor Division, Space Department, danielk1@rafael.co.il. 3 Electric Propulsion Engineer, Rafael, Manor Division, Space Department, eytanr@rafael.co.il. 4 Head of the Electric Propulsion group, Rafael, Manor Division, Space Department, leona@rafael.co.il. D Figure 1. Picture of CAM200 Engineering Model (EM) Hall thruster. Downloaded by Dan Lev on September 11, 2016 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/6.2016-4831 52nd AIAA/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference July 25-27, 2016, Salt Lake City, UT AIAA 2016-4831 Copyright © 2016 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved. Propulsion and Energy Forum