The effect of discharge chamber wall temperature on ion thruster performance

Experiments conducted on a ring cusp ion thruster that could be maintained at temperatures in the range 80 K to 500 K during operation by cooling it with liquid nitrogen are described. The measured changes in performance induced by discharge chamber wall temperature changes are compared to those predicted by a simple discharge chamber model. Good agreement between the temperature induced effects predicted by the model and measured results are demonstrated. Decreases in wall temperature to about 90 K are shown to effect substantial improvements in performance.