Hall effect thruster

From Engineering

Hall thruster in Spacecraft propulsion, is a type of ion thruster in which the propellant is accelerated by an electric field. Hall thrusters are sometimes referred to as Hall Effect Thrusters or Hall Current Thrusters.

[edit] How it works

Hall thrusters trap electrons in a magnetic field and then use the electrons to ionize propellant, efficiently accelerate the ions to produce thrust, and neutralize the ions in the plume.

The essential working principle of the Hall thruster is that it uses an electrostatic potential to accelerate ions up to high speeds.

[edit] Effect

Hall thrusters are able to accelerate their exhaust to speeds of around 15-30km/s, and can produce thrusts of about one Newton.

[edit] Where used

This technology was used on the European lunar mission SMART-1 and is used on a number of commercial geostationary satellites.

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