On the Design of Power and Propulsion Subsystems of All-Electric Telecommunication Satellites

High power budget of telecommunication spacecraft can potentially allow the operation of multiple electric thrusters simultaneously during an orbital transfer to the Geostationary Earth orbit. In this paper, we consider the problem of electric orbit-raising during which the spacecraft uses more than one thruster type during the transfer. We develop a methodology to determine trajectories from arbitrary starting orbits to the GEO for the case when two different thruster types are used during the maneuver. We also develop a framework to analyze the solar array degradation caused by protons in the Van Allen radiation belts during orbit-raising. We demonstrate our methodology with the help of numerical examples that evaluate the trade-offs associated with using arcjets during the initial part of the transfer. We consider different cases of switching from arcjets to Hall thrusters during the maneuver and evaluate the requirements on shielding thickness in order to limit the radiation exposure for representative orbit-raising trajectories.