Abstract
Magnetoplasma Sail (MPS) is one of the next generation in-space propulsion systems that utilize the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere around a spacecraft inflated by the plasma injection. In order to evaluate the thrust characteristics of MPS with plasma injection, the thrust measurement of a scale-model MPS (10-100 N class) was conducted in the laboratory using a pendulum-type thrust stand. The thrust was observed to increase by plasma injection, from 0.04 N to 0.1 N. The thrust gain, the ratio between the thrust with plasma injection and the thrust without plasma injection, was 2.5 (maximum thrust gain). The thrust gain of MPS was observed to increase with increasing the βk value at the plasma injection point, and to our knowledge, the thrust increase by plasma injection of MPS was observed for the first time in this study.
