Discharge Characteristics of a Laser-Electromagnetic Coupling Plasma Thruster for Spacecraft Propulsion

Abstract

The main aim of this work was to construct and investigate an optical and electromagnetic coupling thruster for spacecraft propulsion. This thruster, called as laser-electromagnetic coupling plasma thruster (LEMPT), ablates solid propellants, ionizing the gaseous matter and forming a plasma jet to export impulse bit for the spacecraft. Firstly, tests were performed analyzing the influence of physical variables (initial voltage bias of capacitors, i.e., storage energy of capacitors and laser output repetition frequency) on the discharge characteristics which represents the performance of the thruster. Secondly, the stability quality of the thruster is tested and evaluated in experiment. Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (known as EVA) is used as a propellant for the thruster in the experiments herein. The results have shown that this LEMPT can be used for spacecraft in the future.