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6 kW Hall thruster in operation at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory 3D sketch of an electromagnetic propulsion fusion plasma thruster. Spacecraft electric propulsion (or just electric propulsion) is a type of spacecraft propulsion technique that uses electrostatic or electromagnetic fields to accelerate mass to high speed and thus generating thrust to modify the velocity of a spacecraft in ...
The term electromagnetic propulsion (EMP) can be described by its individual components: electromagnetic – using electricity to create a magnetic field, and propulsion – the process of propelling something. When a fluid (liquid or gas) is employed as the moving conductor, the propulsion may be termed magnetohydrodynamic drive.
PPTs are generally considered the simplest form of electric spacecraft propulsion and were the first form of electric propulsion to be flown in space, having flown on two Soviet probes (Zond 2 and Zond 3) starting in 1964. [2] PPTs are generally flown on spacecraft with a surplus of electricity from abundantly available solar energy.
Plasma propulsion engines using magnetohydrodynamics for space exploration have also been actively studied as such electromagnetic propulsion offers high thrust and high specific impulse at the same time, and the propellant would last much longer than in chemical rockets. [14]
An MPD thruster during test firing 3D sketch of an electromagnetic propulsion fusion plasma thruster. A magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster (MPDT) is a form of electrically powered spacecraft propulsion which uses the Lorentz force (the force on a charged particle by an electromagnetic field) to generate thrust.
3D sketch of an electromagnetic propulsion fusion plasma thruster. VASIMR is a type of electrothermal plasma thruster/electrothermal magnetoplasma thruster. In these engines, a neutral, inert propellant is ionized and heated using radio waves. The resulting plasma is then accelerated with magnetic fields to generate thrust.
When in space, the purpose of a propulsion system is to change the velocity, or v, of a spacecraft. [7] In-space propulsion begins where the upper stage of the launch vehicle leaves off, performing the functions of primary propulsion, reaction control, station keeping, precision pointing, and orbital maneuvering.
A plasma propulsion engine is a type of electric propulsion that generates thrust from a quasi-neutral plasma. This is in contrast with ion thruster engines, which generate thrust through extracting an ion current from the plasma source, which is then accelerated to high velocities using grids/anodes. These exist in many forms (see electric ...