Attention is given to the design features of a radiation-cooled, 30-kW thermal arcjet thruster, whose laboratory tests have yielded specific impulses of up to 935 sec at 36-44 percent thrust efficiency, together with a cumulative lifetime of over 400 hours. All materials used, including seals, can sustain operation at temperatures sufficiently elevated to require the radiation of all waste heat. This electric propulsion system is ideally suited to missions such as the Space-Based Radar. A detailed consideration is conducted for the thruster's seals, which are the most critical element of the design.
The design and operating characteristics of a 30-kW thermal arcjet engine for space propulsion
1986-06-01
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Thermal arcjet technology for space propulsion
NTRS | 1985
|Arcjet thermal characteristics
AIAA | 1991
|AIAA | 1990
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