Abstract
New concepts of low-power MPD (Magnetoplasmadynamic) arcjets for high-power applications have been studied in ISAS (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science). There are two categories of these concepts, pulsed-mode and steady-state MPD arcjets. Both are the candidates, because ISAS has several flight experiences of pulsed MPD arcjet, and also R&D experiences of quasi-steady MPD arcjets and low power DC arcjets. This study shows that the cluster of single MPD arcjet will be the reasonable way to realize large-scale high-power MPD arcjet from the viewpoint of ground tests and facility availability. The focal points for such design will be the thermal analysis and electrode erosion for single MPD arcjet that is just a portion clipped out from the cluster configuration. The simple and robust MPD arcjets at high-power evolution will propose a lot of large-scale transportation in the near future.
