With the development of microspacecraft, the field of electrical micropropulsion is a rapidly
expanding discipline. New ideas are being explored constantly and a review of the current …

Neutral flow dynamics in Hall thrusters are not often regarded as a critical aspect that
controls thruster operation and discharge channel physics. This dissertation, combined with …

MOST often regarded as a 1600-s specific impulse technology, the Hall effect thruster has
benefited from considerable theoretical and experimental research since the 1960s. 1− 3 …

A 0.46 meter diameter Hall thruster was fabricated and performance tested at powers up to
72 kilowatts. Thrusts up to 2.9 Newtons were measured. Discharge specific impulses ranged …

Plasma discharges in electromagnetic thrusters often operate with weakly-collisional,
magnetized electrons. Macroscopic models of electrons provide affordable simulation times …

An overview of NASA's Hall thruster research and development tasks conducted during
fiscal year 2004 is presented. These tasks focus on: raising the technology readiness level …

The field of application of Hall effect thrusters (HETs) is constantly expanding toward
increased power and specific impulse and also toward reduced power. The modern level of …

The effects of facility backpressure and localized electric fields on the measured ion current
densities of Hall thrusters are investigated. Langmuir probe measurements are taken in the …

The addition of the acceleration stage to a micro-cathode vacuum arc thruster (μCAT)
increases the thrust and the specific impulse. This improves the control of small satellites' …

This dissertation presents research aimed at understanding the relationship between facility
background pressure, Hall thruster performance, and plume characteristics. Due to the wide …