Abstract: A digital twin based thruster optimization design method is proposed to address the special needs of space science missions represented by gravitational wave detection and commercial satellite network missions represented by the National Network Constellation Program. Firstly, a digital twin consisting of a mechanistic model module and a test dataset set module is established. The mechanism model module builds a model according to the physical process of the thruster and then simulates the data that is difficult to measure. The test dataset module tests the thruster through experiments and builds a mathematical model of measurable parameters based on the test data. Comparing the digital twin with the experiment, the feedback from the comparison results is used to adjust the mechanism module so as to continuously improve the accuracy of the twin, and finally provide a basis for the optimization design. The results show that: (1) this method is able to construct the digital twin of microwave ion thruster; (2) there are some differences in the prediction results of the digital twin, which are found to be related to the fineness of the mechanism model and the amount of data in the test data set.

Key words: Electric thruster, Ion thrusters, Digital twin, Gravitational wave detection, Optimal design method