초록 ▼

A thruster assembly is disclosed which includes a removable filament mounted in a heat exhange cavity which isolates propellent from the filament and transfers energy from the filament to the propellant. The filament may comprise a single winding of wire or may if desired comprise a bifilar wound he

A thruster assembly is disclosed which includes a removable filament mounted in a heat exhange cavity which isolates propellent from the filament and transfers energy from the filament to the propellant. The filament may comprise a single winding of wire or may if desired comprise a bifilar wound helix. Also disclosed are a number of ways of powering the filament including a plurality of power supplies provided for redundancy as well as variability of operation. The thruster assembly housing includes sophisticated heat conduction structure including a tortuous internal heat conduction path which minimizes heat loss from the thruster for a variety of disclosed purposes. Also disclosed is structure for providing energy transfer to propellant both through radiation and emission. Further, a test bed facility for testing the inventive thruster assembly is set forth.

대표청구항 ▼

A thruster assembly for low thrust applications and use with a propellant which may be heated in order to obtain a higher specific impulse which increases the life of a propulsion system, the thruster assembly comprising: (a) a heating filament and power source controllably connected thereto; (b) a

A thruster assembly for low thrust applications and use with a propellant which may be heated in order to obtain a higher specific impulse which increases the life of a propulsion system, the thruster assembly comprising: (a) a heating filament and power source controllably connected thereto; (b) a heater cavity having heater walls having an inner surface; (c) a supporting structure for the heating filament, the structure supporting the filament entirely within the heater cavity in a manner such that the filament is separated from the heater wall and radiation shielding means comprising a plurality of discs mounted about said supporting structure and at least some of said discs having substantially cylindrical reflectors attached to the outer periphery thereof and extending toward said heating filament; (d) a propellant guiding structure surrounding the heater cavity and having at least one propellant passageway therein, an outer wall of said propellant passageway being attached to an extended length of supporting structure, said extended length being provided with lightening holes to minimize energy loss occurring as a result of thermal conduction through the structural support conduction path, the propellant guiding structure physically isolating said heating filament from said propellant and having a heat sinking capability whereby the filament may be switched on when the propellant is not flowing through said passageway; said propellant guiding structure leading to expansion nozzle means; and (e) the propellant guiding structure being further constructed to permit sufficient heat to be transferred to the fluid in order to enable the fluid to be used as a propellant and in said manner obtain a higher specific impulse at times when the filament is switched off, provided that the average amount of energy supplied by the filament over a period of time during which the filament has been placed at an elevated temperature is greater than the amount of energy necessary to heat the propellant passing through the propellant passageway during the period of time.