Magneto Plasma Dynamic Thruster Using Water Propellant

抄録

This paper describes the design and performance of 100 kW class Magneto Plasma Dynamics Thruster (MPDT) using water as a liquid propellant. In general, MPDTs have a large thrust-to-power ratio and high specific impulse among the electric propulsion devices and use ammonium and hydrogen as a propellant. However, hydrogen propellant requires a high-pressure tank and damages materials, and ammonium is reactive and toxic. Hence, we propose to use water as an MPDT propellant, focusing on the storability and non-toxicity. The use of water propellant will simplify the propulsion systems and reduce size and weight because water necessitates no cryogenic devices nor chemically resistant materials. A 100-kW class prototype was designed to show that water MPDT yielded 1-kA class discharge current, which is necessary for thrust production in self-magnetic field types.