ERC Starting Grant · 2020
Revolutionizing advanced electrodeless plasma thrusters for space transportation
Electrodeless Plasma Thrusters (EPTs) are a new type of space propulsion that promises to overcome the limitations of traditional electric propulsion technologies and to offer unparalleled advantages in terms of power scaling, throttling range, lifetime, propellant types, and simplicity. Nevertheless, EPT development is currently stuck due to the incomplete understanding of their physics, in particular electromagnetic (EM) plasma heating and anomalous transport. Additionally, the cylindrical geometry of existing EPT designs has inherent issues, with high plasma losses and erosion at the rear wall of the ionization chamber and a wide divergence of the generated plasma jet. ZARATHUSTRA aims…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.