Experimental study of a low-thrust measurement system for thruster ground tests

The development of thrusters used for the control of position and orbit of micro-satellites requires thrust stands that can measure low thrust. A new method to measure low thrust is presented, and the measuring device is described. The test results show that the thrust range is up to 1000 mN, the measurement error of the device is lower than ±1% of full scale, and the drift of the zero offset is less than ±1% of full scale. Its response rise time is less than 15 ms. It is employed to measure the working process of a model chemical thruster with repeatability.