ELECTRIC THRUSTER FOR SPACECRAFT PROPULSION

摘要

The thruster has an ionisation chamber 8, an inlet 9 for supplying gaseous propellant into the chamber via a valve 7 when thrust is required, a hollow cathode electron emitter 11 and keeper 12 and an anode 13 for ionising the propellant by electron collision, an accelerating grid 16 at one end of the chamber 8, and an alternating voltage supply 201 connected to the grid 16 such that positive propellant ions and electrons are alternately accelerated out of the chamber 8 to provide an exhaust beam 17 which gives the required thrust and has a predetermined net electrical charge, typically zero. IMAGE