Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Non-Intrusive Optical Measurement Of Electron Temperature In Near Field Plume Of Hall Thruster, Peter J. Urban

ETD Archive

Currently there is a large interest in the use of more efficient means of propulsion in long term missions due to the costs and difficulties associated with placing and maintaining the needed fuel for conventional chemical systems in orbit. Mass reduction of upper stages will return large returns due to the great reduction in required lower stage fuel. Due to these factors, alternatives are undergoing active research, though this paper is concerned with the area of electrical propulsion. Electric propulsion is broadly defined as propulsion where the energization of the exhaust occurs via application of electromagnetic fields as opposed to …