Plasma propulsion has been used in the aerospace industry since the 6O's. This technology, initially conceived and developed in the united States and in the former Soviet-Union, exists today in many different plasma thruster configurations, all based on the same basic principles, but offering a wide range of performance parameters. The high exhaust velocity obtained with plasma propulsion systems offers a significant advantage when compared to chemical propulsion for orbit transfer, station-keeping, and interplanetary cruise missions, In France, the main emphasis has been on the Hall EffectThruster, which was tested in flight on board the SMART-I lunar probe, In the future, we can expect to see improved performance of existing thruster configurations as well as new concepts emerging from a better understanding of the physics of these thrusters.
Propulsion a plasma: vers de nouveaux concepts pour les missions du future
Plasmaantriebe: neue Konzepte für zukünftige Missionen
Plasma propulsion: towards new concepts for future missions
2008
7 Seiten, 5 Bilder, 11 Quellen
Article (Journal)
French
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