Application and Progress of Calibration Technology of High-precision Thrust Stand

Microthrusters are widely used in spacecraft attitude control, orbit maintenance and drag compensation, and the direct measurement of their thrust is the premise of their application. The thrust generated by microthrusters is usually at or below the mN level and has a low thrust-to-weight ratio. The thrust stand is often used to measure and evaluate its thrust performance with high precision. As a measuring instrument, the thrust stand needs to be calibrated before the thrust measurement. The calibration process is mainly to obtain the corresponding relationship between the response of the thrust stand and the force or impulse by applying the accurately known force or impulse on the thrust stand and recording its response. With the development of space technology, some high-precision space missions have increasing requirements for thrust range, resolution, stability and other parameters of thruster. At the same time, higher requirements are also put forward for the measurement capability of the thrust stand and the stability, accuracy and controllability of the corresponding calibration technology. The different calibration methods and the research progress of high-precision thrust stand calibration technology in recent years are classified. The principle, device and application of calibration methods such as gravity method, impact force method, electrostatic force method, electromagnetic force method and gas molecular force method are introduced and analyzed. The application conditions and characteristics of different calibration methods are reviewed and summarized, and the future development trend of high-precision thrust stand calibration technology is prospected.