39th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit AIAA 2003-4555

20-23 July 2003, Huntsville, Alabama

PERFORMANCE AND LIFETIME PREDICTIONS

BY TESTING AND MODELING
FOR THE PPS®5000 HALL THRUSTER

Olivier DUCHEMIN,* Pierre DUMAZERT † and Sébastien CARICHON‡

Snecma Moteurs
Space Propulsion Division, DPES
Site de Villaroche Nord, BP 93
77552 Moissy-Cramayel Cedex, FRANCE

Claude BONIFACE, § Laurent GARRIGUES ¶ and Jean-Pierre BŒUF#

CNRS, CPAT, Université Paul Sabatier
Bâtiment 3R2, 118 Route de Narbonne
31062 Toulouse, FRANCE

Abstract
The PPS ®5000 is a 5-kW Hall-effect thruster that has been under development at Snecma Moteurs
since late 1999. This thruster is designed to allow future large commercial satellites, or higher-
power planetary missions, to benefit from the use of high-specific impulse and high-specific thrust
electric propulsion. The difficulties in accurately predicting performance as well as thruster stability
and wear over the anticipated lifetime mandate a strong combination of testing and modeling
activities early in the program to optimize thruster architecture, avoid design weaknesses and
mitigate technical risks. Since experimental data prove most valuable if combined with or compared
against past experience, a parallel effort is being led in order to run testing campaigns in
conjunction with modeling activities, with the goal of confirming the technological choices,
optimizing thruster performance and assessing lifetime potential. This paper presents some of the
testing and modeling activities for the PPS ®5000 over the past twelve months.

INTRODUCTION satellites will soon be launched with plasma propulsion

Electric Propulsion, and in particular Hall-effect
thrusters such as the PPS®1350 or the PPS®5000, can
deliver substantial mass savings and performance
improvement for space vehicles. In addition to orbital
positioning and station keeping on satellites, they can
also power certain planetary probes. Since the early
development efforts led by the former Soviet Union in
the 1960s and 70s, over 100 thrusters of this type have
been flown in space successfully. While recent launch
failures destroyed the Astra 1K and Stentor satellites
equipped with this type of thrusters, several other
systems, including Intelsat 10 and Inmarsat 4.
Furthermore, the European Space Agency’s Smart-1
(Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology)
lunar probe, slated for launch this year, is equipped with
a Snecma Moteurs PPS®1350 stationary plasma thruster
as its main propulsion system.
More powerful next-generation engines will be needed
to provide cost-effective positioning and station
keeping for the next generation of geostationary
satellites, such as the ones based on the future
European Alphabus platform. However, this also

*
Research and Development Engineer, Plasma Propulsion Group. AIAA Member.
†
Supervisor, Plasma Propulsion Group.
‡ Research and Development Engineer, Plasma Propulsion Group.
§
Ph.D. Student.
¶
Research scientist. AIAA Member.
#
Senior Research Scientist.

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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Copyright © 2003 by Snecma Moteurs and CPAT. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission.
demands new technological solutions. Snecma Moteurs, providing substantial savings over chemical propulsion
with the continued support of CNES and ESA, has for station keeping. For an orbital positioning phase
started the development of a high-power thruster, the ®
lasting two months, the use of four PPS 5000 thrusters
PPS®5000. A technology demonstrator, the PPS®X000, would reduce the liftoff weight of a 4500-kg satellite
has already shown an operating envelope reaching 6 developing 20 kW by 1000 kg (Fig. 2).
kW.
®
® The PPS 5000 is designed to provide total impulse for
The PPS 5000 plasma thruster will offer a wide station keeping of 7×106 N.s., suitable for a 15-year
operating envelope, encompassing: geostationary mission, totaling about 8000 hours of
®
cumulated operation. The PPS 5000 features proprietary
• Orbital transfer with maximum power of 6 kW and
Snecma Moteurs technologies, which push back the
maximum thrust of 340 mN.
limits of current Hall-effect thrusters.
• Station keeping, with specific impulse considerably
higher than current plasma thrusters.
1. TESTING AND MODELING TOOLS
Figure 1 shows the likely operating range for this type ®
of system. The dual operating modes, high thrust and The PPS X000 Technology Demonstrator
®
high specific impulse, mean that, with four PPS 5000
Snecma Moteurs kicked off development of the
thrusters per satellite, it can handle both positioning
PPS®5000 by constructing a technology demonstrator,
(total or partial) and station keeping.
dubbed PPS®X000 – pronounced “X-thousand” (Fig. 3).
400
300 V
It had two primary aims:
340 V
275 V Orbit topping = high thrust
380 V

•
350 20 A

18 A
420 V

460 V
500 V
Provide a full-scale application of all enabling
540 V ®
300

16 A
580 V
620 V
660 V
technologies for a high-performance PPS 5000
Thrust (mN)

700 V
740 V

250
14 A
780 V
800 V flight model thruster.
•
6000 W

12 A
5500 W Test different magnet configurations and
200

10 A
4500 W
5000 W
architectures, especially one that would
8A
150
6A 3500 W
4000 W
significantly increase total operating time.
Station keeping = high specific impulse 5 A
4A
3000 W
100
1500 1700 1900 2100 2300 2500 2700

ISP (s) An initial demonstrator design was validated by

Figure 1: An operating envelope wide enough to intensive thermal and magnetic finite element 3-D
accommodate propulsion needs for future large commercial modeling (Figures 4 and 5).
platforms, both for orbit topping and station keeping.

“Payload” mass
10 Addit ional mass
9
Weight 8
at
liftoff
7
(tons) 6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Without 4 PPS®5000 4 PPS®5 000
electric fo r for orbital
p ropulsion station transfer and
k eeping station keeping

Figure 2: A decisive advantage: benefits on a typical heavy

Figure 3: The PPS®X000, technology demonstrator for the
telecommunications satellite towards the end of the current
PPS®5000.
decade.

Today, plasma propulsion is the only technology, based

on specific power of less than 20 W/mN, capable of
both meeting requirements for the transfer phase and

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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Figure 4: 3-D thermal modeling of the PPS®X000 technology
demonstrator.
Figure 5: 3-D magnetic modeling of the PPS®X000
technology demonstrator using the Flux3D software.
The CPAT Hybrid Simulation Code
The model used in this work is the hybrid, 2-D
model developed at the Centre de Physique des Plasmas
et Applications de Toulouse (CPAT, CNRS), which has
been fully described in other references.2,3 The code was
used in parallel with the first characterization testing
campaign of the PPS®X000 thruster at the end of 2002,
so that experimental data were available for comparison
purposes. Furthermore, this work followed a thorough
comparative study3 in which the code was used to
investigate the fundamental differences between three
different SPT-type thrusters for which experimental data
were available: the PPS®100, the PPS®1350 and the A-54.
This comparative study brought increased confidence
in the capability of the code to predict not only thruster
performance (in terms of efficiency, specific impulse and
beam divergence) and its sensitivity to the applied
magnetic field topology, but also dynamic features such
as discharge stability and ceramic erosion rates.
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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The model is a two-dimensional hybrid model describing
the axial and radial dimensions (r, z) of the thruster
geometry. Not only the channel is modelled, but also the
region beyond the exhaust. This turns out to be
essential, as major ion acceleration may occur beyond
the exhaust. The code requires the input of the magnetic
field. The (static) magnetic field is therefore calculated
prior to any plasma simulations using the 2-D
axisymmetric software Finite Element Method Magnetic 4
(FEMM), which yields results very similar to those of
the Flux2D software. The obtained magnetic field is then
used as an input to the CPAT plasma model, and is
assumed to be unaffected by the discharge.
The plasma is modelled using a hybrid approach, i.e.,
neutral atoms and ions are simulated by a Particle In Cell
(PIC) technique while electrons are described by fluid
equations. Assuming quasi-neutrality, the plasma
density is inferred from the ion PIC simulation and the
electric field distribution from the fluid equations for the
electron transport. It is assumed that no net current
escapes to the insulating channel walls.
Of primary importance is also the estimation of the
cross-field electron mobility. In this model, it is
comprised of the classical mobility term, but also
includes a term to correct for the so-called “anomalous”
electron mobility irrefutably observed in Hall
thrusters.5,6 This results in an enhancement of electron
momentum transfer frequency inside the channel
through a first parameter (αw), interpreted as the result
of electron-wall collisions, and an enhancement of the
cross field mobility outside of the channel through the
Bohm formula and the parameter K. Changing the
arbitrary constant parameters αw or K is thus akin to
changing the magnetic field inside or outside the
discharge channel from the point of view of electron
mobility. This also tunes the ratio of potential drop
inside vs. outside of the annular discharge channel.
Similarly to the treatment of electron mobility, the
treatment of electron energy loss in the model requires
the contribution of an empirical expression
parameterised by an arbitrary constant αε . This may be
interpreted as the combined effects of electron-wall
collisions and field fluctuations on electron energy.3
The other main relevant assumptions are that i) only
singly-charged ions are taken into account; ii) the
electrons are assumed to be in Boltzmann equilibrium,
i.e., the effects of pressure gradient and electric field on
electron fluxes are balanced; and iii) the electron
temperature at the anode (boundary condition on the
energy equation) is fixed equal to 2 eV. This assumption
has implications on the creation of ions in the region (including cathode flow) at 5 kW and 585 V discharge
very close to the anode, but is not expected to influence voltage.
significantly performance and erosion predictions.
Additional characterization testing is currently
Because the maximum value for the radial component of underway to further extend the operational discharge
the magnetic induction Br was similar for the PPS®X000 voltage domain up to 1000 V.
in the reference configuration to that of the PPS®100, the
I sp /s Eff. /%
same values for the arbitrary constant coefficients were 2600 70

taken. It was further considered that this assumption

2400
60
was appropriate for all configurations and operating
points to be investigated in this study. 2200
50

2000

40
Finally, the geometry was modified to allow for the 1800

cylindro-conic cross section of the PPS®5000 ceramic Specific impulse ; ma=13.6 mg/s
Specific impulse; ma=9.7 mg/s 30

discharge channel to be adequately modelled. Likewise, 1600 Specific impulse; ma=8.9 mg/s
Efficiency ; ma=13,6 mg/s
Efficiency; ma=9.7 mg/s 20
the ceramic wall profile was altered to run simulations of 1400 Efficiency; ma=8.9 mg/s

thruster performance at varying stages of erosion. 1200

10

1000 0
3. ENGINE PERFORMANCE 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650

Ud /V

® Figure 7: Total specific impulse and thrust efficiency vs.

PPS X000 Characterization Testing
discharge voltage for the PPS®X000 technological
demonstrator.
A series of characterization tests was carried out at the
end of 2002 and have been described elsewhere.1 Some F /mN
400
of the results are reproduced in Figures 6—8. These
® 350 A PPS®X000
tests helped characterize the PPS X000’s performance
throughout the initial operating envelope, extending to 300
B
C
discharge voltages of nearly 600V. In addition, the 250 D
D
+

operating envelope was systematically checked for

200
different magnetic configurations and architectures, for
an initial estimate of the engine’s robustness to eroded 150

ceramic profiles. 100

Startup / Outgas
400 50 ®
PPS 1350
F / mN
350 0
1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800

300V – Run 1 Isp /s

300

300V - Run2 Figure 8: Thrust and specific impulse explored domain in

reference configuration for the PPS®X000 technological
250 450V

200
demonstrator. Values are indicated for startup conditions as
well as five other operating points: A, B, C, D and D+ .
PPS®1350 nominal operating point is also represented for
150

100 reference.

50
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Anode flow rate /[mg/s]

Figure 6: Thrust vs. anode mass flow rate for the PPS®X000
technological demonstrator.

The error bars in Figures 6—8 show the range of

uncertainty for the experimental measurements. The
demonstrator reached maximum thrust of nearly 340 mN
at 6 kW and 300 V. At the other end of the envelope, it
demonstrated specific impulse of 2500 seconds

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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 ® measured value (19% difference in case A0), although it
PPS X000 Functional Modeling
Functional modeling was carried out after adjusting
magnet currents in FEMM in order to obtain the same
profile for Br as in the static measurements obtained on
the thruster itself.
Table 1 below is a summary of the calculated
performance results, compared to the measured
performance when available. Calculation cases A0
through D0 refer to the thruster in its reference
configuration, while cases A1 through D1 refer to the
thruster in a different (or “advanced magnetic lens”)
configuration.
We note that a constant magnet current was associated
with each given configuration in the simulations, while it
was necessary to adjust magnet current depending on
the operating point in the tests. Another difference to
bear in mind in the interpretation of the data below is
that the measured total thruster efficiency η accounts
for the power dissipated in the electromagnets, whereas
the calculated efficiency does not. The impact on
efficiency can be as high as 3% at 20 A of electromagnet
coil current.
From the comparison between calculated values and
experimental data, when applicable, it can be stated that:
1) Despite the differences in magnet current, the
agreement between calculated data and test data is
usually within the experimental uncertainty for total
efficiency, specific impulse and thrust (experimental
error is between ±3 and ±6 % on thruster efficiency,
between ±53 and ±99 s on Isp, and ±10 mN on thrust);
2) An important difference can be seen on the
divergence half-angle (defining the angular sector
containing 95% of the ion current), noted “Div. 95%” in
the table. Previous experience with the model and
comparisons with other experimental data suggest that
this angle is usually underestimated by about 10 deg. by
the model, i.e., it usually is in the vicinity of 45 deg. on
real thrusters, but this is not sufficient to reconcile
calculated and experimental values.
3) The calculated discharge current for a given anode
mass flow rate was not always in agreement with the
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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
was in general in reasonable agreement (3 – 5%). This
may be caused by the differing magnet currents or, in
the case of A0, a near current-saturation effect coming
from the anode power supply.
The discrepancy in terms of divergence may be
explained by several factors: first, the model does not
consider multiply-charged ions, which are considered to
bring a significant contribution to the divergence,
although they are not expected to be a significant
contributor at 300 V; second, the calculated divergence
is established a few cm downstream of the exit plane,
whereas the measurements are performed 1 m way from
the thruster; and finally, the experimental data for this
parameter were prone to rather large errors, and a spread
greater than 15 deg. in the measured data has been
observed.
Plume divergence angles will therefore need to be
confirmed during future tests, but it is noteworthy that
the calculated divergence is taken into account in the
calculated thruster efficiency, which is in good
agreement with the measured thruster efficiency;
It was further noted that as voltage is increased and
anode mass flow rate is decreased, for a given
configuration, the percentage of electric potential drop
downstream of the exit plane (% Vext) as well as the
localisation of the ionisation zone or maximum of plasma
density all remained unchanged. This is consistent with
the fact that the arbitrary parameters αw and K were
unchanged.
The greater proportion of voltage drop outside of the
ceramic channel in configuration 1 (typically +5%) is
consistent with the fact that the point of maximum radial
magnetic field is displaced 3 mm downstream. The other
plasma parameters are otherwise unchanged, as for the
general performance.
Overall, the available comparison points give good
confidence in the prediction of the thruster performance
parameters by the code. This also gives good
confidence in the prediction of the general plasma
processes (electric potential, density and energy
distributions) so that useful information on lifetime
potential may be extracted from the model.
 Table 1: Summary of thruster performance (calculated vs. measured).
Case A0 B0 C0 D0 A1 B1 C1 D1
Calc Meas Calc Meas Calc Meas Calc Meas Calc Meas Calc Meas Calc Meas Calc Meas

Ud (V) 300 375 450 550 300 375 450 550

m& a (mg/s) 19.7 14.3 12.3 10.3 16.5 14.3 12.3 10.3

Im (A) 12.9 20 12.9 18 12.9 13.1 12.9 18 16.1 20 16.1 20 16.1 20 16.1 19

Id (A) 17 20.9 13 13.4 11 11.2 10 9.4 14 15.7 13 13.3 12 11.1 11 9.4

Idosc (A pp) 29 44 38 33
Iwall (A) 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.3

T (mN) 306 340 263 271 256 256 237 233 255 274 258 276 251 256 234 239
Isp (s) 158 175 187 192 212 211 234 230 157 169 184 196 208 213 234 236
4 3 7 3 0 9 6 4 2 0 2 0 1 0 2 5
η 0.46 0.46 0.49 0.48 0.50 0.51 0.48 0.48 0.46 0.45 0.47 0.50 0.48 0.50 0.46 0.50
Div. 95% 35 - 33 70 32 79 30 67 32 - 32 73 32 70.5 32 68

% Vext 0.61 0.61 0.62 0.65 0.63 0.66 0.68 0.70

4. ENGINE LIFETIME This test, slated to begin in early August 2003, has thus
for primary objective to provide a preliminary
® experimental lifetime estimate for the thruster, i.e., to
PPS X000 Partial Life Testing
estimate ceramic insulator wall erosion as well as
Because the PPS 5000 is developed to meet the thruster performance stability over time.
propulsive requirements of the future large commercial
satellites in the power range 14 – 25 kW, a design goal is
the capability to achieve a total mission impulse greater 5 x (60’ T ON+180’ T OFF) 95 x (60’ T ON+20’ T OFF)
than 7 MN.s at a power level of 5 kW over the course of
its operational life.

In order to assess lifetime potential by testing, a cycled,

Cumulated firing time : 100 hours
1000-hour partial life test is part of the pre-development
activities to be conducted on the PPS X000
Total sequence duration : 147 hours
technological demonstrator. On top of the cumulated
thruster run time and because station keeping duties
require cycled thruster operation over the course of the
satellite mission, 1000 on-off cycles have been included Figure 9: 1000-hour cycled partial life test profile for the
in the test plan. This is justified by the possible effects PPS®X000 technological demonstrator.
that thermal fatigue can have on such parts as, e.g., the
gas distributor, its connection with the xenon feed line During the 1000-hour test, an array of diagnostics will
or the discharge chamber assembly. The test is therefore be implemented in order to measure or estimate thruster
to follow a cyclogram as represented in Fig. 9. This performance evolutions with operating time, as well as
sequence is the result of a trade-off where enough time discharge chamber volumetric erosion rates. In
must be given during on and off periods for all thruster particular, in situ real time optical measurements will be
parts to experience most of their expected temperature made to monitor wall erosion with time, as well as to
excursions, while also maximizing the global duty cycle monitor temperature, ion beam divergence and energy
in order to minimize schedule impact and test cost. The distribution profiles and their evolution with time.
duty cycle for this test is 0.68, and the test will be
comprised of ten identical sequences of 100 hours and
100 cycles (Fig. 9).

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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 ® profiles). This was also true for beam divergence (Fig.
PPS X000 Life Potential Assessment with the CPAT
code
Past experience with the PPS®1350 or other SPT-type
thrusters suggest that thruster performance are
significantly affected during the first 500 hours of
operation, before slowly stabilizing between 500 and
1000 hours and then sometimes slightly increasing
again. All previous life testing experience has been
gained at 300—350 V discharge voltage, however, and it
is not clear how this can be interpreted in terms of
thruster performance stability and erosion at
significantly higher voltages.
It should also be pointed out that the PPS®X000 can be
operated over an extended discharge voltage range
(perhaps as high as 800 or 1000 V). In particular, the
thruster is expected to have a dual-mode capability, i.e.,
orbit transfer and station keeping. Because it seems
unrealistic to combine both operating points on a single
1000-hour test, the partial life test will be performed
under operating conditions representative of station
keeping operations – the baseline mission. This
mandates, in turn, to be able to assess thruster
performance stability and erosion early in the
development on the other (optional) operating point –
orbit topping – through reliable modeling.
The model developed at CPAT implements calculations
of the erosion rate of the channel walls due to ion
bombardment.7 This uses both the calculated ion flow
field, as well as an empirical formula derived from
experimental ceramic sputtering data. Calculated erosion
rate profiles for the inner and outer ceramic walls under
given conditions were therefore calculated ahead of the
upcoming partial life test.
While the calculated erosion rates cannot be expected
to be quantitavely correct, useful trends were identified
and illustrated, such as the effect of magnetic field lines
tilt angle, magnetic field topology within the annular
discharge channel, and localization of the ionization and
acceleration zones. Very importantly; the highly non-
linear effect of discharge voltage on erosion rates was
also evidenced.
Finally, the influence of varying ceramic wall profiles
during thruster operation on thruster performance and
erosion rate could also be investigated. It was found, in
particular, that code predictions based on eroded
profiles for the ceramic walls did not show any
degradation in thruster performance (less than 1 % after
1000 hours and less than about 4 % for fully eroded
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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
10).
Divergence vs. engine run time
38
Divergence half-angle for 95% beam
36
A0
34 B0
current /deg.
C0
D0
32
A1
30
B1
C1
D1
28
26
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
Engine run time /hrs
Figure 10: Evolution of predicted divergence half-angle with
engine run time for all technological model thruster
configurations.
The endurance testing described here, along with the
data from the characterization tests and modeling work
conducted in parallel with the testing activities, are
expected to yield significant insights into the engine
wear mechanisms and the main driving parameters of
ceramic insulator wall erosion.
5. CONCLUSION
Today, the state of the art for Hall effect thrusters, either
qualified or under development, is around 350 V
discharge voltage. The PPS®X000 operated at a
discharge voltage of nearly 600 V (limited solely by the
test bench setup), marking a considerable advance in
terms of the acceleration of Xe + ions, and therefore in
specific impulse. Based on this excellent performance,
additional tests are currently on-going in an upgraded
facility, to characterize demonstrator performance at up
to 1000 V.
Plasma propulsion may be a relatively young
technology, but it is becoming absolutely essential on
today’s largest satellites. The ways of increasing
specific impulse and other pure performance parameters
are already known: increase discharge voltage, while
also controlling discharge behavior.
The main challenge is to ensure that a Hall-effect
thruster retains its performance throughout its operating
life of 7000 to 8000 hours, despite the increasingly high
power requirements. Thrusters in the 1.5 kW class, used
in current-generation satellites, have already proven this
ability. But to ensure the continued competitiveness of
tomorrow’s satellites will require 5-kW class Hall-effect
thrusters, combining longer endurance and higher
performance – the very aim of the PPS®5000 now under
development by Snecma Moteurs. Meeting the cost and
schedule constraints imposed by commercially-driven
development efforts while pursuing aggressive
performance gains mandates a close combination of and
numerous iterations between testing and modeling.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The work described in this paper was performed under

the joint support of the French Centre National d’Études
Spatiales (CNES) and of the European Space Agency
(ESA).

REFERENCES

1. O. Duchemin, P. Dumazert, S.D. Clark and D.H.

Mundy, “development and Testing of a High-
Power Hall-Thruster,” IEPC-03-0032, presented at
the 28th International Electric Propulsion
Conference, Toulouse, France (2003).
2. G.J.M. Hagelaar, J. Bareilles, L. Garrigues and J.P.
Boeuf, J. of Applied Physics 91, 5592 (2002).
3. G.J.M. Hagelaar, C. Boniface, J. Bareilles, L.
Garrigues and J.P. Boeuf “Étude Comparative des
Moteurs SPT100, PPS®1350 et A54,” CPAT
research report to Snecma (31 August 2002.).
4. FEMM version 3.1, by D. Meeker,
http://femm.berlios.de (2002).
5. V.V. Whurin, H.R. Kaufmann and R.S. Robinson,
Plasma Sources Sci. Techn. 8, R1 (1999).
6. N.B. Meezan, W.A. Hargus and M.A. Capelli, Phys.
Rev. E 63, 026410 (2001).
7. L. Garrigues, G.J.M. Hagelaar, J. Bareilles, C.
Boniface, and J.P. Bœuf, "Model Sudy of the
Influence of the Magnetic Field Configuration on
the Performance and Lifetime of a Hall Thruster,"
submitted to Physics of Plasmas (2003).

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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics