SOUTHAMPTON
- Purpose: Specialized for electric propulsion testing under simulated space conditions.
- Location: REL laboratory on the UniBw M main campus.
- Key dimensions:
- Total volume: 1 m3
- Diameter: 0.85 m
- Lenght: 2 m
Pumping system of the Southampton has three stages as follow:
- Fore-Vacuum Stage:
- Pump: Pfeiffer DUO 125 (VP)
- Pumping Speed: 135 m3/h
- Pressure range: 1x103 to 1x10-2 mbar
- Roots Stage:
- Pump: Pfeiffer Okta 250 (SMP)
- Pumping speed: 145 to 440 m3/h
- Pressure range: 1x101 to 1x10-3 mbar
- High Vacuum Stage:
- Pump: Pfeiffer TPH 2200(SMP)
- Pumping speed: 2200 l/s (7920 m3/h)
- Pressure range: 1x100 to 8x10-7 mbar
Designed to test medium-power gas-fed thrusters (e.g. C-STAR, Arcjet).
The facility is equipped with pressure and temperature stabilised propellant feed system; and fully automatised, ensuring the reliable control and recording of all subsystem parameters.
Diagnostics:
- Langmuir probes (plasma density)
- Emissive probes (plasma potential)
- Retarding potential analysers (ion energy)
- Optical emissive spectroscopy with three-stage spectrometer (analyse plasma composition and properties)
- Thomson scattering (electron temperature and density)
- Rayleigh scattering (Neutral density and temperature)
- Raman scattering (Identify molecular species)
- And more
- Diagnostic Capabilities: Equipped with an extensive range of diagnostics and a specially designed moving arm, enabling precise positioning for detailed thruster characterization.
- Thrust Measurement: Recently acquired FOTEC thrust measurement system, capable of measuring thrusts up to 100 mN.
- Pressure Maintenance: Maintains test chamber pressure below 1 x 10-3 mbar with up to 50 sccm cold-flow.
- Performance Results: Cold-flow test results with Argon and Carbon Dioxide are shown below.