MATEX -: A test platform in space for high power electric propulsion

Electric propulsion for spacecrafts provides, because of the high specific impulse, an enormous gain in Delta v and/or payload capacity. Of the different types of this propulsion, the applied-field magnetoplasmadynamic thruster (AF-MPD) seems to be an outstanding candidate for the power range between 10 and 100 kW. Despite excellent results, the development of these devices has been almost totally suspended for the last 20 years. Some of the reasons for this suspension were unanswered physical questions due to the lack of adequate vacuum in ground test facilites: at higher pressure, interactions of induced currents with the ambient gas falsify measured mass flow and thrust data. To solve these open questions, an experimental platform attached to the ISS is suggested: the Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster Experiment, MATEX. Since the power level of the experiment exceeds the possibilities of the ISS, MATEX's own battery package will provide the thruster power, and it needs only the recharging power and some additional power for the maintenance of the experiments (power condioning unit (PCU), diagnostic package etc). The platform, a preliminary design of which is presented in the paper, will be designed to also fit other types of high power electric thrusters.