| US 7,500,350 B1 | ||
| Elimination of lifetime limiting mechanism of hall thrusters | ||
| David T. Jacobson, Lakewood, Ohio (US); and David H. Manzella, Cleveland, Ohio (US) | ||
| Assigned to The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C. (US) | ||
| Filed on Jan. 28, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/44,471. | ||
| Int. Cl. H05H 1/00 (2006.01); B64G 9/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 60—202 [60/204] | 25 Claims |
| 1. A Hall thruster, comprising:
inner and outer electromagnets, with the outer electromagnet circumferentially surrounding the inner electromagnet along a
centerline axis and separated therefrom;
inner and outer poles, in physical connection with their respective inner and outer electromagnets, with the inner pole having
a mostly circular shape and the outer pole having a mostly annular shape;
a discharge chamber separating the inner and outer poles;
a combined anode electrode/gaseous propellant distributor, located at an upstream portion of the discharge chamber and supplying
propellant gas; and
an actuator, in contact with a sleeve portion or portions of the discharge chamber, wherein
the actuator is configured to extend the sleeve portion or portions of the discharge chamber along the centerline axis with
respect to the inner and outer poles, and
the actuator is configured to extend the sleeve portion or portions based on operational conditions of the Hall thruster.
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