A concept of ferroelectric microparticle propulsion thruster

摘要

A space propulsion concept using charged ferroelectric microparticles as a propellant is suggested. The measured ferroelectric plasma source thrust, produced mainly by microparticles emission, reaches ～9 × 10~(-4) N. The obtained trajectories of microparticles demonstrate that the majority of the microparticles are positively charged, which permits further improvement of the thruster.