Electrodynamic plasma thruster with capillary-porous electrode

A scheme of a spacecraft thruster based on a stationary electrodynamic plasma accelerator with capillary-porous electrodes is proposed. Such electrodes are renewable and nondegradable, and the service life is limited by the supply of filler metal. High-efficiency regimes of the capillary-porous electrodes are determined. In such regimes, the accelerator can give a thrust of greater than 10 N and a specific impulse of several tens of kilometers per second. Li, Sn, and Ga with porous molybdenum or tungsten mats can be used as filler metal for capillary-porous electrodes.