Actions for Miniature Free-Space Electrostatic Ion Thrusters

Email RIS file
Bookmark
Report an Issue

Miniature Free-Space Electrostatic Ion Thrusters

Author
Stephens, James B.
Published
November 2006.
Physical Description
1 electronic document
Additional Creators
Hartley, Frank T.
Online Version

Availability

I Want It
I Want It

Finding items...

Restrictions on Access
Unclassified, Unlimited, Publicly available.
Free-to-read Unrestricted online access
Summary
A miniature electrostatic ion thruster is proposed for maneuvering small spacecraft. In a thruster based on this concept, one or more propellant gases would be introduced into an ionizer based on the same principles as those of the device described in an earlier article, "Miniature Bipolar Electrostatic Ion Thruster". On the front side, positive ions leaving an ionizer element would be accelerated to high momentum by an electric field between the ionizer and an accelerator grid around the periphery of the concave laminate structure. On the front side, electrons leaving an ionizer element would be ejected into free space by a smaller accelerating field. The equality of the ion and electron currents would eliminate the need for an additional electron- or ion-emitting device to keep the spacecraft charge-neutral. In a thruster design consisting of multiple membrane ionizers in a thin laminate structure with a peripheral accelerator grid, the direction of thrust could then be controlled (without need for moving parts in the thruster) by regulating the supply of gas to specific ionizer.
Other Subject(s)
Collection
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) Collection.
Note
Document ID: 20110014141.
NPO-21059.
NASA Tech Briefs, November 2006; 29.
Terms of Use and Reproduction
Copyright, Distribution as joint owner in the copyright.
View MARC record | catkey: 16202934