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Topic: Pulsed plasma thruster


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In the News (Fri 17 Feb 12)

  
  PowerPedia:Pulsed Plasma Thruster - PESWiki
Pulsed plasma thrusters are a method of spacecraft propulsion which use an arc of electric current adjacent to a solid propellant (almost always teflon), to produce a quick and repeatable burst of impulse.
Pulsed plasma thrusters were the first electric propulsion system to be deployed in space, on the Soviet probes Zond-2 in 1964 and Zond-3 in 1965.
Pulsed plasma thrusters were flown in November, 2000 as a flight experiment on the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center EO-1 spacecraft.
peswiki.com /index.php/PowerPedia:Pulsed_Plasma_Thruster   (833 words)

  
  Pulsed plasma thruster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pulsed plasma thrusters use an arc of electric current adjacent to a solid propellant (almost always teflon), to produce a quick and repeatable burst of impulse.
PPTs are great for attitude control, and for main propulsion on particularly small spacecraft with a surplus of electricity (those in the hundred-kilogram or less category).
Pulsed plasma thrusters were the first electric propulsion system to be deployed in space, on the Soviet probes Zond-2 in 1964 and Zond-3 in 1965.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Pulsed_plasma_thruster   (168 words)

  
 United States Patent: 6,216,445
A pulse plasma thruster (50) utilizes a vapor producing solid (54) and a micro-sized heater (52) to produce a high pressure vapor that is directed into an ignition chamber (58) and to a thrust discharge chamber (70).
The method of operating a pulsed plasma thruster according to claim 32 wherein the shape is controlled in three segments corresponding to an open circuit to constant voltage segment, a constant voltage segment and a constant current segment.
The method of operating a pulsed plasma thruster according to claim 32 wherein the step of directing the high pressure vapor in the direction of said thrust discharge chamber is performed in a manner that creates pressure between the two electrode plates of the thrust discharge chamber.
www.design.caltech.edu /erik/Patents/6216445.html   (5329 words)

  
 Vacuum arc plasma thrusters with inductive energy storage driver - Patent 6818853
Attempts to drive plasma sources with inductors have been made in the past but were abandoned due to the need for very high voltages to break-down the vacuum gap and the associated requirement that the electronic switch controlling the inductor must operate very fast and hold-off said high voltage.
A second object of the invention is a vacuum arc thruster in a parallel plate configuration, whereby one of the plates is a cathode electrode, the other plate is-an anode electrode, and an insulating separator is placed between the cathode electrode and the anode electrode.
A fourth object of the invention is a pulsed plasma thruster in either a coaxial, a planar, or a ring configuration, whereby one of the electrodes is a cathode, the other electrode is an anode, and an insulating coaxial separator is placed between the cathode and the anode.
www.freepatentsonline.com /6818853.html   (6012 words)

  
 EO-1 Pulsed Plasma Thruster
The PPT consists of a coiled spring to feed the Teflon propellant, an igniter plug to initiate a small trigger discharge and an energy storage capacitor and electrodes.
Plasma is created by the ablation of the Teflon propellant from discharge of the storage capacitor across the electrodes.
The plasma is accelerated by Lorenz force in the induced magnetic field to generate thrust.
eo1.gsfc.nasa.gov /Technology/PPT.htm   (283 words)

  
 Ion thruster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ion thrusters are therefore able to achieve high specific impulse, reducing the amount of reaction mass required but increasing the amount of power required compared to chemical rockets.
The Hall effect thruster is a type of ion thruster that has been used for decades for station keeping by the Soviet-Union and is now also applied in the West: the European Space Agency's satellite Smart 1 uses it.
The HiPEP thruster differs from earlier ion thrusters because the xenon ions are produced using a combination of microwave and magnetic fields to oscillate electrons in the propellant atoms, causing the electrons to break free of the propellant atoms, leaving them as positive ions.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Ion_thruster   (1164 words)

  
 Hall effect thruster
A Hall effect thruster is a type of electric propulsion rocket engine in which the propellant is accelerated by an electric field in a plasma discharge with a radial magnetic field.
These thrusters were introduced to the West in 1992 after a team of electric propulsion specialists, under the support of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, visited Soviet laboratories and experimentally evaluated the SPT-100 (i.e., a 100 mm diameter SPT thruster).
In a hall thruster, a magnetic field is used to ensure that the discharge power goes into accelerating the xenon propellant and not the electrons, thus the thruster is efficient.
www.arikah.net /encyclopedia/Hall_effect_thruster   (1080 words)

  
 GAEP Capacitor Driving Pulsed Plasma Thruster
The thruster consists of a coiled spring to feed the Teflon propellant, an igniter plug to initiate a small trigger discharge, the GAEP energy storage capacitor and electrodes.
Plasma is created by the sudden change from a solid to a gas of the Teflon propellant caused by the discharge of the storage capacitor across the electrodes.
The plasma is accelerated by an electromagnetic force in the induced magnetic field to generate thrust.
www.gaep.com /pr-gaep-plasma-thruster.html   (450 words)

  
 Pulsed hall thruster system - US Patent 6735935   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
The pulsed Hall thruster system of claim 1 in which said Hall thruster includes a propellant conduit system with an input port and an output port proximate said discharge chamber and said propellant storage and delivery system includes a propellant accumulator proximate said input port and a valve between said accumulator and input port.
Pulsed Hall thruster systems can be used for: propulsion of small spacecraft which lack sufficient power for steady state operation; attitude control in large spacecraft; and in spacecraft where steady state propulsion and/or delivery of small impulse bits are needed.
In preferred embodiments the Hall thruster may include a propellant conduit system with an input port and an output port proximate to the discharge chamber and the propellant storage and delivery system may include a propellant accumulator proximate the input port and a valve between the accumulator and the input port.
www.patentstorm.us /patents/6735935.html   (4281 words)

  
 pulsed plasma thruster (PPT)
The Air Force's LES-6 communications satellite, for example, had four PPTs each producing about 12 million pulses over the lifetime of the thruster.
A PPT works by ablating and ionizing material from a fuel bar (typically consisting of a chloroflourocarbon such as Teflon) with the current from a discharging capacitor.
The positive ions released are then accelerated between two flat-plate electrodes – one positive, the other negative – arranged in the form of two long parallel rails which are connected across the capacitor.
www.daviddarling.info /encyclopedia/P/pulsedplasmathruster.html   (157 words)

  
 Propulsion Sciences and Advanced Concepts Division - Spacecraft Branch
Arcjet thrusters provide high specific impulse with low thrust while being very economic with the use and weight of propellants.
Hall Effect satellite thruster performance is important to the reduction of the overall size and electrical power needs of an orbiting spacecraft or satellite.
Pulsed Plasma Thruster (PPT) systems provide thrust by electromagnetic acceleration of propellants using a discharge of energy.
www.pr.afrl.af.mil /divisions/prs/prss/prss.html   (511 words)

  
 Spacecraft propulsion   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
In an ion thruster, electricity is used to accelerate ions out the back.
The reaction mass is then allowed to escape from the rear of the vehicle by passing through a de Laval nozzle, which dramatically accelerates the reaction mass, converting thermal energy into kinetic energy.
Rockets emitting gases are limited by the fact that their exhaust temperature cannot be so high that the nozzle and reaction chamber are damaged; most large rockets have elaborate cooling systems to prevent damage to either component.
www.sciencedaily.com /encyclopedia/spacecraft_propulsion_1   (2676 words)

  
 NASA - NASA Glenn EO-1 Pulsed Plasma Thruster
Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTs) are electric propulsion devices which offer unique benefits to a broad range of spacecraft.
A PPT was selected for demonstration on the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) New Millennium mission as a step to more extensive uses on future missions.
In the EO-1 experiment, the PPT is mounted on the spacecraft to control the pitch axis, with two thrust vectors in opposing directions to provide positive and negative pitch maneuvers.
www.nasa.gov /centers/glenn/about/history/eo1ppt.html   (290 words)

  
 Encyclopedia: Pulsed plasma thruster
See also: Hall effect thruster, Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster, Spacecraft propulsion 2 kW Laboratory Hall Thruster in operation at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory A Hall effect thruster is a type of ion thruster in which the propellant is accelerated by an electric field in a plasma discharge with a radial magnetic field.
Magneto-Plasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters are a form of electric Propulsion which use the Lorentz force (a force exerted on charged particles by magnetic and electrical fields in combination) to generate thrust.
A remote camera captures a close-up view of a Space Shuttle Main Engine during a test firing at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi Spacecraft propulsion is used to change the velocity of spacecraft and artificial satellites, or in short, to provide delta-v.
www.nationmaster.com /encyclopedia/Pulsed-plasma-thruster   (419 words)

  
 Pulsed Plasma Microthrusters   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
Pulsed plasma thrusters (PPT) have been used for several decades to provide attitude control for small satellites.
These thrusters are becoming important as potential propulsion systems for a smaller class of communication satellites that will be launched in large numbers (e.g., 77 in the Motorola Iridium System) into low earth orbit to provide continuous global coverage.
These thrusters have many of the characteristics of plasma opening switches (POS) that have been under study at UTSI for several years.
cla.utsi.edu /html/research/fluids/plasma_micro.htm   (219 words)

  
 OhioLINK ETD: Scharlemann, Carsten
Consequently, in an effort to investigate changes in physical phenomena and thruster performance experimentally, a hybrid thruster was designed and built, facilitating the use of alternatively water or Teflon.
For 30 J discharge energy, the water thruster requires only 5% of the mass bit of a Teflon thruster to produce an impulse bit 30% of the magnitude of the Teflon thruster, suggesting greatly increased propellant efficiencies.
In agreement with the plasma diagnostic results, a specific impulse for the water thruster of up to 8000 s and efficiencies of up to 16% were evaluated.
rave.ohiolink.edu /etdc/view?acc_num=osu1070354149   (342 words)

  
 Pulsed plasma thruster
Pulsed plasma thrusters use an arc of electric current through a solid propellant (almost always teflon), to produce a quick and highly efficient and dependable burst of impulse.
PPT's are great for attitude control, and for main propulsion on particularly small spacecraft (those in the hundred-kilogram or less category).
The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
www.ebroadcast.com.au /lookup/encyclopedia/pu/Pulsed_plasma_thruster.html   (69 words)

  
 Thruster   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
Come at it from this angle and locate the automatic flip-flop override device here, which in turn will diffuse the antigyroscopic preinterface thruster chamber, and the pneaumatic centripetal antigravity shield deflectors, then you simply deactivate the axial gyro-presubinertia-photomegatronic oscillator that you see here.
"Thruster" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time.
"Thruster" is used about 11 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English.
www.websters-online-dictionary.org /th/thruster.html   (609 words)

  
 3C: Plasma Thrusters
Nevertheless, the experiences of the NSTAR ground tests and the thruster on the Deep Space One spacecraft indicate that the discharge cathode wear must be studied experimentally and theoretically to ensure that it meets the lifetime requirements.
The efficiency of the Pulsed Plasma Thruster (PPT) is reduced when part of the magnetic field energy that is converted into particle energy does not become directed kinetic energy but rather a thermal energy.
Considering an electromagnetic pulsed plasma thruster we found that, depending on the current density in the hydrodynamic layer, this velocity varies from very small (compared to the sound speed) up to the sound speed with current density increase.
www.ee.ualberta.ca /icops2002/programtest/3C.htm   (1445 words)

  
 Pulsed Plasma Thruster Technology
Electromagnetic-pulsed-plasma thrusters (PPT's) offer the combined benefits of extremely low average electric power requirements (1 to 150 W), high specific impulse (~1000 sec), and system simplicity derived from the use of an inert solid propellant.
As a result of rapid growth in the small satellite community and the broad range of PPT applications, the NASA Lewis Research Center has initiated a development program to dramatically reduce the PPT dry mass, increase PPT performance, and demonstrate a flight-ready system by October 1997.
The PPT program is on target to deliver a new, lightweight flight-qualified system in October 1997.
www.grc.nasa.gov /WWW/RT1995/5000/5330m.htm   (449 words)

  
 Magnetoplasmadynamic thruster . Spacecraft propulsion . Hall effect thruster . Pulsed plasma thruster   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
Applied-field thrusters have magnetic rings surrounding the exhaust chamber to produce the magnetic field, while self-field thrusters have a cathode extending through the middle of the chamber.
MPD thruster technology has been explored academically, but commercial interest has been low due to several remaining problems with the technology, namely extreme power requirements on the order of megawatts MW for optimum performance.
In theory, MPD thrusters could produce extremely high specific impulses Isp of up to and beyond 11,000 seconds pound-force lbf·spound lb 110 newton kN·skg, triple the value of current xenon-based ion thrusters.
www.uk.fraquisanto.net /Magnetoplasmadynamic_thruster   (689 words)

  
 Pulsed Plasma Thruster Technology   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
Electromagnetic-pulsed-plasma thrusters (PPT's) offer the combined benefits of extremely low average electric power requirements (1 to 150 W), high specific impulse (~1000 sec), and system simplicity derived from the use of an inert solid propellant.
As a result of rapid growth in the small satellite community and the broad range of PPT applications, the NASA Lewis Research Center has initiated a development program to dramatically reduce the PPT dry mass, increase PPT performance, and demonstrate a flight-ready system by October 1997.
The PPT program is on target to deliver a new, lightweight flight-qualified system in October 1997.
www.lerc.nasa.gov /WWW/RT1995/5000/5330m.htm   (449 words)

  
 DownloadPapers
Model of the Plasma Universe, H. Alfvén, IEEE Trans.
Cosmology in the Plasma Universe: An Introductory Exposition, H. Alfvén, IEEE Trans.
Introduction to Plasma Astrophysics and Cosmology, A. Peratt, Astrophys.
public.lanl.gov /alp/plasma/papers.html   (938 words)

  
 Pulsed-Plasma Thrusters Guide Satellite Home
A single PPT unit with two opposing thrust nozzles controlled the 1166-pound (529 kg) spacecraft's pitch (up and down) axis for 4 hours as it made several orbits of the Earth.
Pulses of electricity, lasting only one one-thousandth of a second, are fired across the Teflon bar.
The Pulsed Plasma Thruster Technology Demonstration is the result of a partnership between NASA's Goddard Space Flight and Glenn Research Centers, General Dynamics Space Propulsion Systems and Swales Aerospace.
www.spacedaily.com /news/satellite-tech-02b.html   (871 words)

  
 Lecture #31: Plasma and electric propulsion
Plasmas exist at widely varying densities and temperatures, as shown in the figure below, taken from J.D. Huba, NRL Plasma Formulary (Naval Research Laboratory NRL/PU/6790-94-265, 1994).
Quantum mechanics enters the world of plasma thrusters because line radiation--the light emitted when electrons move down energy levels in an atom--can be a significant energy loss mechanism for a plasma.
In MPD thrusters, a current along a conducting bar creates an azimuthal magnetic field that interacts with the current of an arc that runs from the point of the bar to a conducting wall.
rigel.neep.wisc.edu /~jfs/neep533.lect31.99/plasmaProp.html   (1522 words)

  
 Pulsed Plasma Thruster
At the same time, a PPT technology development roadmap was developed to focus PPT efforts on both near- and far-term mission performance requirements.
The breadboard PPT has undergone extensive testing at PRiMEX and is currently being tested at Lewis to assess system-level performance and environmental characteristics.
Multiple PPT units with three-axis fuel bars are currently envisioned for this application to provide translation and precision positioning of two to three formation-flying spacecraft.
www.lerc.nasa.gov /WWW/RT1997/6000/6910curran.htm   (541 words)

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