In recent years, there has been a notable push for cost reduction in space applications, aligning with the growing interest in CubeSats. To unlock their full capabilities, propulsion is essential for executing complex missions. However, many propulsion technologies struggle to combine a low power-to-thrust ratio (PTTR), delivering sufficient total impulse, and providing high thrust, all within the limited space of a CubeSat. In this context, the Advanced Cusp Field Thruster (ACFT) emerges as a novel candidate, encapsulating all these crucial characteristics. To validate its performance of the thruster without the integration of a dedicated feeding system and a Power Processing Unit (PPU), a miniaturized development model of an ACFT underwent a 1650-hour endurance test, followed by a subsequent end-of-test characterization. This led to the achievement of a total impulse of 4400Ns and a maximum thrust of 152241N at a specific impulse of 103541.4s, a PTTR of 29.50.8W/mN (without neutralizer), and an overall efficiency of 17.21.1% using krypton.

中文翻译：

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立方体卫星推进器的新型候选者的耐久性测试和表征：先进尖端场推进器（ACFT）

近年来，随着人们对立方体卫星日益增长的兴趣，人们大力推动降低空间应用的成本。为了释放它们的全部能力，推进对于执行复杂的任务至关重要。然而，许多推进技术都难以在立方体卫星的有限空间内将低功率推力比 (PTTR) 与提供足够的总冲量和高推力结合起来。在这种背景下，先进尖端场推进器（ACFT）作为一种新颖的候选者出现，涵盖了所有这些关键特征。为了在不集成专用馈电系统和功率处理单元 (PPU) 的情况下验证推进器的性能，ACFT 的小型化开发模型经过了 1650 小时的耐久性测试，随后进行了测试结束表征。这使得总冲量为 4400Ns，比冲量为 103541.4s 时最大推力为 152241N，PTTR 为 29.50.8W/mN（无中和器），使用氪的总体效率为 17.21.1%。