Use of a new type of propellant for electric propulsion

Abstract

Natural uranium hexafluoride, UF6, may be used as propellant in an electric propulsion system. A method of manufacturing an electric thruster using a propellant, may include providing natural uranium hexafluoride UF6 as the propellant in the electric thruster, optionally as the sole propellant. The electric thruster may be an electronegative thruster, a gridded electric thruster, or a Hall effect electric thruster. The method may include providing two polarized grids to generate an electric field, and/or generating an electric field by a combination of a magnetic field and an electrostatic potential difference between an anode and a cathode.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.