Solid propellant pulsed plasma thruster driven by magnetic pulse compression circuit

This study presents an SPPT (solid propellant pulsed plasma thruster) driven by an MPC (magnetic pulse compression) pulse generator with the aim of achieving efficient utilization of propellant. The stepwise current waveform formed by saturable inductor and ultra-short discharge current holds promise to control propellant supply for efficient acceleration. A prototype of co-axial electrode type MPC-SPPT was fabricated and tested to demonstrate adaptability of the MPC for use as power source for the PPT. Thrust performance of MPC-SPPT equipped with two kinds of MPC (163ns current pulse width, 30.5J discharge energy; 1us current pulse width, 21J discharge energy) was evaluated. Advantages and capabilities of an MPC-SPPT system are discussed based on the acquired experimental results.