Xenon Production by Iodine Transmutation

Electrostatic thrusters are the likely choice for station keeping of the new generation of small communication satellites. Xenon is the fuel of choice for these thrusters because of its high mass and low ionization potential. Existing worldwide xenon production will not permit fueling of more than a small fraction of the projected satellite population unless significant price increase of Xe is realized to justify higher production capacity. A convenient alternative to Xe production through air liquefaction is a proprietary technique proposed herein. Xenon produced in this manner can generate extremely high purity xenon. The Phase I program provides a conceptual design of a large-scale facility and a proof-of-principle experiment. Comparison will be made between cryogenically produced xenon and bulk production by the proposed method.