Hall effect electric propulsion system

A hall effect thruster comprising

• a magnet having a back end portion and a front end portion and an acceleration chamber defined therebetween, an aperture formed in said front end portion of said magnet wherein said aperture opens into said acceleration chamber, and a first pole opposite a second pole at said aperture, wherein a face of said first pole and a fact of said second pole of said magnet are oriented non-parallel relative to each other causing a flux of a magnetic field induced between said first and second poles to be asymmetric,
• electron generator means, located exterior to said acceleration chamber, for generating an electron beam toward said asymmetric magnetic field and for trapping a first plurality of electrons of said electron beam in said flux of said magnetic field to form an electron cloud, and
• at least one ionizer located within said acceleration chamber for positively ionizing a flow of propellant molecules introducible into said acceleration chamber before said molecules reach the aperture.

A hall effect thruster comprising:

• an electromagnet having a first pole opposite a second pole, wherein said first and second poles are located at an aperture formed in a first and portion of said electromagnet, and further wherein a face of said first pole and a face of said second pole are oriented non-parallel relative to each other, causing a flux of a magnetic field induced between said first and second poles to be asymmetric,
• at least one ionizer located within an acceleration chamber formed between a second end portion and said first end portion of said electromagnet, wherein a flow of propellant molecules introducible into said acceleration chamber are ionized by said ionizer before said molecules reach the aperture, and
• electron generator means for generating an electron beam toward said asymmetric magnetic field to form an electron cloud, for electromagnetically accelerating said flow of propellant molecules through said electron cloud, neutralized, and for expelling them to produce thrust.