Journal ArticleDOI
Electric propulsion for satellites and spacecraft: established technologies and novel approaches
TLDR
A short review of electric propulsion technologies for satellites and spacecraft can be found in this paper, where momentum conservation and the ideal rocket equation, specific impulse and thrust, figures of merit and a comparison with chemical propulsion are discussed.Abstract:
This contribution presents a short review of electric propulsion (EP) technologies for satellites and spacecraft. Electric thrusters, also termed ion or plasma thrusters, deliver a low thrust level compared to their chemical counterparts, but they offer significant advantages for in-space propulsion as energy is uncoupled to the propellant, therefore allowing for large energy densities. Although the development of EP goes back to the 1960s, the technology potential has just begun to be fully exploited because of the increase in the available power aboard spacecraft, as demonstrated by the very recent appearance of all-electric communication satellites. This article first describes the fundamentals of EP: momentum conservation and the ideal rocket equation, specific impulse and thrust, figures of merit and a comparison with chemical propulsion. Subsequently, the influence of the power source type and characteristics on the mission profile is discussed. Plasma thrusters are classically grouped into three categories according to the thrust generation process: electrothermal, electrostatic and electromagnetic devices. The three groups, along with the associated plasma discharge and energy transfer mechanisms, are presented via a discussion of long-standing technologies like arcjet thrusters, magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters, pulsed plasma thrusters and ion engines, as well as Hall thrusters and variants. More advanced concepts and new approaches for performance improvement are discussed afterwards: magnetic shielding and wall-less configurations, negative ion thrusters and plasma acceleration with a magnetic nozzle. Finally, various alternative propellant options are analyzed and possible research paths for the near future are examined.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
The 2017 Plasma Roadmap: Low temperature plasma science and technology
Igor Adamovich,Scott D. Baalrud,Annemie Bogaerts,Peter Bruggeman,Mark A. Cappelli,Vittorio Colombo,Uwe Czarnetzki,Ute Ebert,Ute Ebert,James Gary Eden,Pietro Favia,David B. Graves,Satoshi Hamaguchi,Gary M. Hieftje,Masaru Hori,Igor Kaganovich,Uwe Kortshagen,Mark J. Kushner,Nigel J. Mason,Stéphane Mazouffre,S. Mededovic Thagard,Hans-Robert Metelmann,A. Mizuno,Eric Moreau,Anthony B. Murphy,Brendan A. Niemira,Gottlieb S. Oehrlein,Z. Lj. Petrović,Leanne Pitchford,Yi Kang Pu,Shahid Rauf,Osamu Sakai,Seiji Samukawa,Svetlana Starikovskaia,Jonathan Tennyson,Kazuo Terashima,Miles M. Turner,M.C.M. van de Sanden,Armelle Vardelle +38 more
TL;DR: The 2017 plasmas roadmap as mentioned in this paper is the first update of a planned series of periodic updates of the Plasma Roadmap, which was published by the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics in 2012.
Journal ArticleDOI
Tutorial: Physics and modeling of Hall thrusters
TL;DR: Hall thrusters as discussed by the authors are very efficient and competitive electric propulsion devices for satellites and are currently in use in a number of telecommunications and government spacecraft, with specific impulse values between 1000 and 3000's.
Journal ArticleDOI
Space micropropulsion systems for Cubesats and small satellites: from proximate targets to furthermost frontiers
Igor Levchenko,Igor Levchenko,Kateryna Bazaka,Yongjie Ding,Yevgeny Raitses,Stéphane Mazouffre,Torsten Henning,Peter J. Klar,Shunjiro Shinohara,Jochen Schein,Laurent Garrigues,Minkwan Kim,Dan R. Lev,Francesco Taccogna,Rod Boswell,Christine Charles,Hiroyuki Koizumi,Yan Shen,Carsten Scharlemann,Michael Keidar,Shuyan Xu +20 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight the most promising developments reported at the 2017 International Workshop on Micropropulsion and Cubesats (MPCS-2017) by leading world-reputed experts in miniaturized space propulsion systems.
Journal ArticleDOI
The technological and commercial expansion of electric propulsion
Dan R. Lev,Roger M. Myers,Kristina M. Lemmer,Jonathan Kolbeck,Hiroyuki Koizumi,Kurt A. Polzin +5 more
TL;DR: The use of electric propulsion (EP) on satellites for commercial, defense, and space science missions has been increasing in recent decades, from the first successful operation in 1964 aboard the Zond-2 spacecraft to the present day as mentioned in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI
Recent progress and perspectives of space electric propulsion systems based on smart nanomaterials.
Igor Levchenko,Igor Levchenko,S. Xu,George Teel,Davide Mariotti,Mitchell L. R. Walker,Michael Keidar +6 more
TL;DR: This review examines the cutting edge and discusses the opportunities for integration of nanomaterials into the most advanced types of electric propulsion devices that take advantage of their unique features and boost their efficiency and service life.
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce the concept of particle and energy balance in discharges and introduce the theory of collision dynamics and wave-heated discharges, as well as chemical reactions and equilibrium.
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BookDOI
Fundamentals of electric propulsion : ion and Hall thrusters
Dan M. Goebel,Ira Katz +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce the concept of Hall Thrusters and Hall-Thrusters as a way of transferring force from one particle to another in the form of force transfer.
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Physics of Electric Propulsion
Robert G. Jahn,F. A. Lyman +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, a book on physics of electric propulsion covering gas acceleration principles, flow heating and space thrustor design is presented, with a focus on the propulsion of electric vehicles.
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