Configurations and Key Issues of Low Thrust Measurement for Microspacecrafts

Microthrusters on microspacecrafts are of interest and its output thrust must be characterized for a particular applicaton. The technology of micro thrust measurement can evaluate the performance of microthrusters. The measurement principles of steady-state thrust, pulse impulse, average thrust and instantaneous thrust are introduced. The classical thrust stands at home and broad are summarized and they are classified into torsional arm type, balance type, hanging pendulum type and flexure vibration type according to their dynamics configurations. The characters, purpose, advantages and disadvantages are analyzed. The key problems, such as error influence factors and its countermeasure, calibration, and measurement automatization, are pointed out.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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