SERT-1
 SERT-1's Program Manager, Raymond J. Rulis examining the spacecraft |
|
| Operator | NASA |
|---|---|
| Major contractors | NASA Lewis Research Center |
| Mission type | probe |
| Launch date | July 20, 1964 |
| Launch vehicle | Scout-X4 |
SERT-1 (Space Electric Rocket Test) was a NASA probe used to test ion engine design and was built by NASA's Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn). SERT-1 was the first spacecraft to utilize ion engine design. [1]. It was launched on June 20, 1964 on a Scout rocket.[2] It carried two electric propulsion engines; of the two, the first, an electron-bombardment ion engine ("Kaufman ion thruster") was run for a total of 31 minutes and 16 seconds. This was the first time that an ion engine of any type had been operated in space, and demonstrated that the neutralizer worked as predicted. (A second thruster, of a different type, failed to operate.)
The test was followed by the SERT-II probe, launched into a 1000-km-high polar orbit on February 3, 1970,[3][4], which demonstrated two mercury thrusters operating for 2011 hrs and 3781 hrs in space. Up to 300 thruster restarts were demonstrated.
The SERT rocket tests demonstrated ion engine technology that was later used on the Deep Space 1 probe and later missions.
[edit] Technical Papers
Sovey, J. S., Rawlin, V. K., and Patterson, M. J.: "Ion Propulsion Development Projects in U. S.: Space Electric Rocket Test 1 to Deep Space 1," Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 17, No. 3, May–June 2001, pp. 517–526.
William R. Kerslake and Louis R. Ignaczak, Development and Flight History of The SERT II Spacecraft, paper AIAA-92-3516, 28th Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, Nashville, Tennessee, July 6–8, 1992; available at NTIS as NASA Technical Memorandum 105636. (accessed July 1, 2010).
[edit] References
- ^ NASA - Glenn Contributions to Deep Space 1
- ^ Ronald J. Cybulski, Daniel M. Shellhammer, Robert R. LoveII, Edward J. Domino, and Joseph T. Kotnik, RESULTS FROM SERT I ION ROCKET FLIGHT TEST, NASA Technical Note D2718 (1965).
- ^ NASA Glenn, "SPACE ELECTRIC ROCKET TEST II (SERT II) (Accessed July 1, 2010)
- ^ SERT page at Astronautix (Accessed July 1, 2010)
[edit] External links
- Glen Research Center page on the SERT-1 mission
- A spacecraft for Ion thrustor tests, Pre-misson report for SERT-1
- Development of the SERT-1 Spacecraft, Summary Report
- Description and Operation of spacecraft in SERT-1 ion thrustor flight test
- Results from SERT-1 ion rocket flight test
- Thrust measurement of SERT-1 ion thrustors
 |
This article related to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This article about one or more spacecraft of the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
