Research and development of a 1-kw plasmajet thruster
Work is reported on the development of a small arc plasmajet thruster suitable for attitude control and orbit adjustment. The effort to date has resulted in a thruster capable of delivering the required thrust (0.01 lb) at a specific impulse in excess of 1100 sec. Kinetic efficencies in excess of 35% were obtained. This performance was obtained using hydrogen as a propellant. The specific design, along with other designs tested, is reported herein. Some design considerations pertinent to small plasmajet thrusters are presented.