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The Plasma Contactor
Unit (PCU) was developed by the Rocketdyne
division of The Boeing Company to control
charging of the International Space Station
(ISS). Each PCU contains a Hollow Cathode
Assembly (HCA), which emits the charge
control electrons. The HCAs were designed
and fabricated at NASA's Glenn Research
Center (Glenn). Glenn's HCA development
program included manufacture of engineering,
qualification, and flight model HCAs as well
as qualification and wear tests. Glenn
tracks the on-orbit data for the flight HCAs
in order to ascertain their overall health.
As of April 5, 2004, 43 ignitions and over
6000 hours have been accumulated on a single
unit. The flight HCAs continue to operate
flawlessly.
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HCA Operating in Life Test at Glenn
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Flight HCAs Ready for Installation
in PCUs
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PCU Assembled at KSC
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Z1 Truss with PCUs Installed
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PCUs Installed on the ISS
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Multimedia
+ Z1
Truss Installation in Shuttle Bay
Publications
+ AIAA-2003-5145
Comparison of On-Orbit and Ground Based
Hollow Cathode Operation
+ AIAA-2002-4098
Comparison of On-Orbit and Ground Based Hollow
Cathode Operation
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