The Safety and Hazard Process Followed During the Design of a 50kW-Class Electric Propulsion Subsystem: PPE

The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) is the first piece of the Artemis Lunar Gateway. This spacecraft will host a 50kW-class state of the art electric propulsion subsystem, containing a combination of never-before-flown 6kW and 12kW thrusters, large Carbon Fiber Overwrapped Pressure Vessel xenon tanks, and a refueling interface. The combination of the high degree of new hardware within the propulsion system, the inclusion of PPE within the larger human-rated Artemis Gateway, and the high level of Lanteris Space Systems heritage with the Lanteris 1300 platform required a tailored safety and hazard process for the program. This paper details the system safety and hazard analysis methods applied during the design phase, summarizes key hazard identification and mitigation activities, and discussed how these influenced the final architecture of the electric propulsion subsystem.