Systems, methods, and apparatus for a structural propellant for ion rockets (SPIR) are disclosed. In one or more embodiments, a method for in-space propulsion of a spacecraft involves removing, by a removal device, a portion of a structure of the spacecraft. The method further involves feeding, by the removal device, the portion into a Hall thruster system. Further, the method involves utilizing, by the Hall thruster system, the portion as propellant to produce thrust. In one or more embodiments, the structure is an upper stage of the spacecraft. In at least one embodiment, the upper stage comprises at least one structural support and/or at least one upper stage housing. In some embodiments, the structure is manufactured from magnesium, bismuth, zinc, and/or indium.
Structural Propellant for ion rockets (SPIR)
2019-10-01
Patent
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
NTIS | 1967
|NTRS | 1964
|Engineering Index Backfile | 1955
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