A mercury electron-bombardment ion thrustor suitable for spacecraft station keeping and attitude control

1966 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. KERSLAKE ◽  
P. MARGOSIAN
Keyword(s):  
Attitude Control ◽  
Electron Bombardment ◽  
Station Keeping

scholarly journals Microplasma thruster for ultra-small satellites: Plasma chemical and aerodynamical aspects

2008 ◽  
Vol 80 (9) ◽  
pp. 2013-2023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshinori Takao ◽  
Takeshi Takahashi ◽  
Koji Eriguchi ◽  
Kouichi Ono
Keyword(s):  
Microwave Power ◽  
Attitude Control ◽  
Specific Impulse ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Station Keeping ◽  
Plasma Chemical ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Thrust Efficiency

A microplasma thruster has been developed of electrothermal type using azimuthally symmetric microwave-excited microplasmas. The microplasma source was ~2 mm in diameter and ~10 mm long, being operated at around atmospheric pressures; the micronozzle was a converging-diverging type, having a throat ~0.2 mm in diameter and ~1 mm long. Numerical and experimental results with Ar as a working gas demonstrated that this miniature electrothermal thruster gives a thrust of >1 mN, a specific impulse of ~100 s, and a thrust efficiency of ~10 % at a microwave power of <10 W, making it applicable to attitude-control and station-keeping maneuver for a microspacecraft of <10 kg.

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