Spacecraft Propulsion Devices and Systems with Microwave Excitation
AssigneeMomentus Space LLC
InventorsJason Hummelt, Joel Sercel, Philip Mainwaring, James Small, Matthew Parman
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Abstract
In a spacecraft for operating a thruster that includes a microwave source, a resonant cavity, and a source of propellant which the thruster converts to hot gas and directs via a nozzle to generate thrust, a method includes operating the thruster in an ignition mode in which the microwave source outputs power at a first rate, and operating the thruster in a propulsion mode in which the microwave source outputs power at a second rate higher than the first rate.
Claims1
A method in a spacecraft for operating a thruster that includes a microwave source, a resonant cavity, and a source of propellant which the thruster converts to hot gas and directs via a nozzle to generate thrust, the method comprising:
- operating the thruster in an ignition mode in which the microwave source outputs power at a first rate;
- and
- operating the thruster in a propulsion mode in which the microwave source outputs power at a second rate higher than the first rate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.