电推进在深空探测主推进中的应用及发展趋势

Application and development trends of electric propulsion in deep-space primary propulsion

随着太阳能电池阵列电功率的不断增长,高比冲电推进在深空探测主推进任务中的应用成为现实,且有明显增加趋势。在我国实施两次月球探测任务之后,深空探测将成为我国航天领域的重要组成部分。从20世纪90年代末开始,美国、日本和欧洲相继发射了四个由电推进执行主推进的深空探测器-深空一号探测器、隼鸟号小行星探测器、智慧一号月球探测器和黎明号小行星探测器,极大地提升了深空进入能力,且获得了很多科学数据。本文分析深空探测主推进对电推进的需求,对电推进在深空探测主推进任务中的应用现状进行综述,分析关键技术和发展趋势,为我国深空探测推进技术发展提供参考。

With the continuing increment of solar array power, high specific impulse electric propulsion for deep-space primary propulsion was realized, and the application has been increased evidently. After two lunar explorations, the deep-space exploration will be an important part of Chinese space activities. Since the late 1990s, USA, Japan and Europe have launched four deep-space probes propelled by electric propulsion： Deep-space 1 Probe, HAYABUSA Asteroid Probe, SMART-1 Lunar Probe and DAWN Asteroid Probe. These activities significantly improved deep-space access capabilities, and a lot of scientific data were acquired. The requirements, application status, key technologies and development trends of the electric propulsion for deep-space exploration are analyzed for providing a reference for the development of Chinese deep-space propulsion technology.