High power plasma propulsion can move large payloads for orbit transfer, lunar missions, and beyond with large savings in fuel consumption owing to the high specific impulse. At high power, lifetime of the thruster becomes an issue. Electrodeless devices with magnetically guided plasma offer the advantage of long life since magnetic fields confine the plasma radially and keep it from impacting the material surfaces. For decades, concerns have been raised about the plasma remaining attached to the magnetic field and returning to the vehicle along the closed magnetic field lines. Recent analysis suggests that this may not be an issue if the magnetic field is properly shaped in the nozzle region and the plasma has sufficient energy density to stretch the magnetic field downstream. An experiment is being performed to test the theory regarding the MHD detachment scenario. The status of that experiment will be discussed in this paper.
Status of Magnetic Nozzle and Plasma Detachment Experiment
SPACE TECH.& APPLIC.INT.FORUM-STAIF 2006: 10th Conf Thermophys Applic Microgravity; 23rd Symp Space Nucl Pwr & Propulsion; 4th Conf Human/Robotic Tech & Nat'l Vision for Space Explor.; 4th Symp Space Coloniz.; 3rd Symp on New Frontiers & Future Concepts ; 2006 ; Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA)
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 813 , 1 ; 465-473
2006-01-20
9 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Status of Magnetic Nozzle and Plasma Detachment Experiment
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