Hall-effect thruster usable at high altitude

Abstract

The invention relates to a Hall-effect thruster (10), configured to be arranged inside or outside a spacecraft. The thruster has a concentrator (36) for collecting particles (P). The shape of this concentrator is defined by a continuous contour (C1) that wraps around the thrust axis and is such that along a major portion of the contour, each cross-section of the concentrator perpendicular to the contour is parabola-shaped and has a focus (F1) belonging to the contour (C1). The magnetic circuit (50) is further arranged to generate the magnetic field (B) adjacent to the contour (C1).

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to the field of Hall effect thrusters using atmospheric gas as propellant. Background technique [0002] Document US 2003 / 046921 describes a Hall effect thruster with atmospheric gas as propellant. Such thrusters use particles from the remaining atmosphere, mobilized in the thruster. [0003] Hall-effect thrusters, which use atmospheric gases as propellants, are primarily used to propel observation satellites, and these thrusters are particularly useful in low orbits. [0004] At this altitude, the remaining atmosphere slows down the satellites, limiting their lifetime. Advantageously, Hall effect thrusters with atmospheric gas as propellant allow to compensate for this drag, thereby increasing the lifetime of the satellite. [0005] However, these thrusters cannot operate at altitudes of around 100 kilometers, given the thin atmosphere at this altitude. Therefore, they are not usable above this altitude, for example to allow ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0005] However, these thrusters cannot operate at altitudes of around 100 km, given the thin atmosphere at this altitude

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