IP Library › Patent Application 17981270
Patent Application
App. No. 17/981,270

Spacecraft Propulsion Devices and Systems with Microwave Excitation

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US None
App. No.
17/981,270
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.

Claims (3)

1 . 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.