Plasma thrusters

As Fuel for Micro/Nanosatellites Using Laser Plasma Thrusters... 

The well-defined threshold and higher Cm of the triazene polymer is an important feature for the design of a plasma thruster with tape-like polymer fuel, because the optimum incident laser fluence and tape speed are clearly defined. The decreasing values of Cm after the maximum are due to the in-... 

The designed polymers also have superior properties for applications in the near-IR. The carbon-doped triazene polymer shows higher values of Cm and Isp as compared to a commercial polymer (PVA). The well-defined threshold for the momentum coupling coefficient is an important aspect for the application of polymers in laser plasma thrusters. 

Another more exotic application of the designed polymers is as fuel for laser plasma thrusters. The good performance of the laser polymers is probably due to the exothermic decomposition and the high density of labile triazene groups. This suggests the great potential of material design, even for quite different laser-based applications. 

Doped polymers as fuel for laser plasma thrusters... 

Examples for the second group are polymers as fuel in the micro laser plasma thruster (JJ.LPT), PLD of polymers, matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE), which is a deposition technique that can be used to deposit highly uniform thin films [26], or laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) [27-29], which can be used to produce microstructures by transferring an irradiated area of a target film to an acceptor substrate. The polymer can be the transferred material, or just functions as driving force in the transfer. 

Figure 11 2. General sehematie of a high-eurrent magneto-plasma-dynamie thruster (1) thermionie eathode (2) ring-anode (3) insulator.

Figure 11 3. General schematic of an erosion pulsed plasma thruster (1) cathode (2) anode (3) propellant (4) main battery of capacitors (5) battery of capacitors of the ignition system (6) igniting needle.

Optimal Specific Impulse of Electric Propulsion Systems (Ion and Plasma Thrusters). Based on relation (11-43) between the initial mass Mq of a spacecraft at low (near-Earth) orbit and its specific impulse /sp, derive formula (11-44) for the optimal value of the specific impulse, /sp Explain why the optimal value of the specific impulse of the ion and plasma thrusters, /sp does not depend on the value of their thrust and is mostly determined by the duration of space flight. 

Bouchoule, A., Cadiou, A., Heron, A., Dudeck, M., Lyszyk, M. (2001), An Overview of the French Research Program on Plasma Thrusters for Space Applications, Contributions to Plasma Physics, vol. 41, no. 6, p. 573. Boufendi, L. (1994), Ph.D. Thesis, Faculte de Science, GREMI, University of Orlemis, France. 

A potential application of polymer laser ablation concerns the propulsion of small satellites (1-10 kg) used in space science [86]. Laser plasma thrusters, LPTs, operating with small, powerful diode lasers emitting in the near-infrared wavelength range (930-980 nm) have been proposed. Polymers intended to serve as fuel for a thruster are required to possess a large momentum coupling coefficient, C, defined by Eq. (9-3) ... 

Possible plasma thruster peak power from 5% to 15% DOD, twice a day Resistance to high vibrations and shock levels in relation to launcher characteristics... 

Chapter 8 relates to the modehng of Hall-effect plasma thrusters more specifically, small innovative thrusters (referred to as PPIs, as an acron3rm for their name in French). 

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