Abstract Body

Spacecraft are an excellent example of where superconducting magnet systems must be designed to demanding size, weight, and power requirements. Using a flux-pump to energize the superconducting magnet can help to meet such requirements by reducing the cryogenic cooling power needed through the elimination of the heat-leak from current leads to the magnet.
A project led by the Robinson Research Institute is building a type of electric propulsor for spacecraft called an applied-field magnetoplasmadynamic (AFMPD) thruster. The applied-field is generated by a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet cooled by a low-power (<100 W) cryocooler and energized by a flux pump. The flux pump is a solid-state, transformer-based self-rectifier designed to meet flight-qualification standards required for transportation into low-earth orbit. This subsystem of the thruster – the flux-pumped HTS magnet – will be operated on the international space station in 2024/2025 to demonstrate, for the first time, an HTS magnet in space.
This presentation will detail the design decisions behind the flux pump that were made to address the challenges of operation in space. Performance results from ground-tests of the applied-field module will be presented, along with an assessment of key next steps to increase the technology-readiness-level of such flux pumps.

References

This work was supported in part by New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) by through the project `High Magnetic Field Electric Propulsion for Space', contract number RTVU2003