Effect of the hollow cathode heat power on the performance of a Hall-effect thrusteris investigated.The variations in the Hall-effect thruster's performance(thrust,specific impulseand anode efficiency)with the hollow cathode heat power was obtained from the analysis of theexperimental data.Through an analysis on the coupling relationship between the electrons emittedfrom the hollow cathode and the environmental plasma,it was found that the heat power wouldaffect the electron emission of the emitter and the space potential of the coupling zone,whichwould lead to a change in the effective discharge voltage.The experimental data agree well withthe results of calculation which can be used to explain the experimental phenomena.
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