Electrostatic propulsion system, spacecraft and propulsion method therefor

摘要

Electrostatic propulsion systems (140, 220) for spacecraft include a plurality of electrostatic thrusters (136, 137) that are continuously coupled to power forms of a power supply system (226). Ionizable gas is fed to a selected one of the thrusters to selectively initiate the thrust of that electrostatic thruster. In other embodiments, heater power forms are coupled only to the selected thruster to reduce power consumption and increase cathode lifetime. The propulsion system has a reduced complexity and is especially suited for spacecraft in which only one thruster is ever fired at a given time.