Pulsed plasma thruster having an electrically insulating nozzle and utilizing propellant bars

A thruster comprising:

• a body having a cavity with a discharge end and a first passage formed therein in communication with the cavity;
• a diverging nozzle which is at least partially non-ablating and substantially electrically insulating and which has an inlet disposed adjacent to the discharge end and an outlet;
• a first electrode disposed within the cavity;
• a second electrode disposed adjacent to the outlet of the nozzle;
• an electric power supply connected to the first and second electrodes to generate an electric arc having a current path therebetween;
• and
• a non-gaseous, non-liquid propellant material that forms an ionized gas as an incident of being heated,
• the propellant material being heated by the electric arc to produce a pressurized, ionized gas in the cavity,
• the propellant material having a bar form, the bar disposed in the first passage with a first surface of the bar defining at least a portion of the cavity.

A thruster comprising:

• a body having a cavity with a discharge end;
• a diverging nozzle which is at least partially non-ablating and substantially electrically insulating and which has an inlet disposed adjacent to the discharge end and an outlet;
• a first electrode disposed within the cavity;
• a second electrode disposed adjacent to the outlet of the nozzle;
• an electric power supply connected to the first and second electrodes to generate an electric arc having a current path therebetween;
• a non-gaseous, non-liquid propellant material that forms an ionized gas as an incident of being heated, the propellant material being heated by the electric arc to produce a pressurized, ionized gas in the cavity;
• and
• means for generating an electric spark adjacent to the outlet of the nozzle, the spark initiating the generation of the electric arc between the first and second electrodes.

A method of producing plasma to be used to propel a mass comprising the steps of:

• providing a cavity with a discharge end;
• providing a diverging nozzle which is at least partially non-ablating and substantially electrically insulating and has an inlet disposed adjacent to the discharge end and an outlet;
• providing a non-gaseous, non-liquid propellant material that forms an ionized gas as an incident of being heated;
• generating an electric arc having a current path through the cavity and the nozzle between a first electrode disposed in the cavity and a second electrode adjacent the nozzle outlet;
• and
• heating the propellant material to produce an ionized gas in the cavity;
• and
• expelling the ionized gas from the cavity through the nozzle while generating the electric arc having a current path between the electrodes and through the cavity and the nozzle.

A thruster comprising:

• first, upstream and second, downstream spaced electrodes defining a space;
• a non-gaseous, non-liquid propellant disposed in the space with a surface which defines at least in part an ionized propellant generation region within the space which the first electrode is disposed in and which has an outlet;
• a first non-ablating, electrically insulating diverging wall disposed in the space with a surface which defines an acceleration region within the space having an inlet adjacent to the outlet of the ionized propellant generation region and an outlet adjacent to the second electrode;
• and
• an electric power supply coupled to the first and second electrodes to generate an electric arc having a current path therebetween to ablate the propellant to produce an ionized propellant,
• the electrical energy supply including a pulse forming network circuit having an operational mode wherein an electric arc is generated between the first and second electrodes having a current path through the space while the ionized propellant accelerates in the acceleration region.