Design of a cusped field plasma thruster

摘要

A plasma space propulsion thruster has been designed. It is classified as a Cusped Field Thruster (CFT), which refers to the geometry of the magnetic field that influences the flow of electrons and ions. The thruster was modeled after an original Diverging Cusped Field Thruster (DCFT) developed at MIT's Space Propulsion Laboratory. There are several improvements (including a flat downstream separatrix) that are aimed at increasing performance. In general, plasma thrusters have applications in satellite trajectory adjustment and deep space probes because of their superior fuel efficiency compared to chemical thrusters.