| The work detailed herein describes the procedures used to design, build, and test a thrust stand for low thrust, and to evaluate uncertainties associated with the measurement of the thrust.; The inverted pendulum and null balance configurations have been chosen. The inverted pendulum configuration was selected because it can be a very sensitive device and is compact. The null balance design was preferred because of its flexibility: the stand can quickly be adapted to different levels of thrusts.; Experiments show that the thrust stand can measure thrusts as low as 0.12 Newton. A detailed uncertainty analysis reveals that the thrust can be determined within 6 to 9%, and that the lack of accuracy is mostly due to vibrations in the thrust stand surroundings and friction. |
