The performance of a three-channel, 100-kW nested Hall thruster was evaluated on xenon propellant for total powers up to 102 kW. The thruster demonstrated stable operation in all seven available channel combinations at discharge voltages from 300 to 500 V and three different current densities. The resulting test matrix contained forty-six unique conditions ranging from 5 to 102 kW total power and 16 to 247 A discharge current. At each operating condition, thrust, specific impulse, and efficiency were characterized. All seven channel combinations showed similar performance at a given discharge voltage and current density. The largest thrust recorded was $5.4\pm 0.1\mathrm{N}$ at $99\mathrm{kW}/400\mathrm{V}$ discharge voltage. Total efficiency and specific impulse ranged from 0.54 to $0.67\pm 0.03$ and from 1800 to 2650 s $\pm 60$ s, respectively. Discharge current oscillations were also characterized with peak-to-peak values and with high-speed camera analysis, which provide insight into how the discharge channels oscillate and how those oscillations are affected by the presence of other operating channels. These results are discussed in the context of differences between single- and multichannel operation, as are the implications for the general viability of nested Hall thruster technology for future mission applications.

三通道 100 kW 嵌套霍尔推进器的性能在氙气推进剂上进行了评估，总功率高达 102 kW。在 300 至 500 V 的放电电压和三种不同的电流密度下，推进器在所有七个可用通道组合中均表现出稳定运行。最终的测试矩阵包含 46 个独特的条件，总功率从 5 到 102 kW，放电电流为 16 到 247 A。在每种操作条件下，都对推力、比冲和效率进行了表征。在给定的放电电压和电流密度下，所有七个通道组合都表现出相似的性能。记录的最大推力是$5.4\pm 0.1\mathrm{N}$ 在 $99\mathrm{千瓦}/400\mathrm{伏}$放电电压。总效率和比冲范围从 0.54 到$0.67\pm 0.03$ 从 1800 到 2650 秒 $\pm 60$s，分别。放电电流振荡还具有峰峰值和高速相机分析的特征，可深入了解放电通道如何振荡以及这些振荡如何受到其他操作通道的影响。这些结果在单通道和多通道操作之间的差异的背景下进行了讨论，以及对嵌套霍尔推进器技术在未来任务应用中的一般可行性的影响。