The invention relates to space engineering, in particular, to electric propulsion systems (EP) with electric rocket engines with electrodeless plasma source and acceleration stage using a wide variety of substances as a propellant, designed mainly for installation onboard a spacecraft for transferring it from parking orbit to the target orbit, orbit maintenance, attitude control, altitude control, unloading attitude control systems, maneuvers between orbits, and de-orbiting. The bi-directional wave plasma thruster for spacecraft consists of a gas discharge chamber defining thrust axis, antenna, RF-generator module electrically coupled with antenna, magnetic systems, wherein the gas discharge chamber is configured open to outer atmosphere from two opposite end-faces to form two thrust vectors opposite in direction and having common axis being the axis of the gas discharge chamber, while the antenna is on the outer side of the gas discharge chamber and is surrounded by a ring of dielectric material from its outer side, and there is one magnetic system on each opposite end of the gas discharge chamber, while the gas discharge chamber has a gas dynamic connection line with a propellant supply and storage system by means of two radial gas feedthroughs tightly connected to the gas discharge chamber in two places upstream of the magnetic systems. The technical result is the reduction of thruster weight and dimensions, increase of the specific thrust and specific impulse per consumed power unit, elimination of parasitic discharges damaging thruster and spacecraft structure components, elimination of power losses on the antenna-plasma electromagnetic coupling line, elimination of electromagnetic radiation to the propulsion system components and spacecraft structure components resulting in spacecraft rotation in space.

According to some embodiments, a system for widening and densifying a scrape-off layer (SOL) in a field reversed configuration (FRC) fusion reactor is disclosed. The system includes a gas box at one end of the reactor including a gas inlet system and walls of suitable heat bearing materials. The system further includes an exit orifice adjoining the gas box, wherein the exit orifice has a controllable radius and length to allow plasma to flow out from the gas box to populate the SOL with the plasma. The system may also include fusion products, which decrease in speed in the plasma in the SOL, allowing energy to be extracted and converted into thrust or electrical power and further allowing ash to be extracted to reduce neutron emissions and maintain high, steady-state fusion power.

A thruster has a first stage and a second stage. The first stage is a plasma source that outputs a plasma. The second stage is an accelerator. In one embodiment, the second stage is a plasma accelerator that accelerates the plasma. In another embodiment, the second stage is an ion accelerator that accelerates the ions from the plasma.

The invention provides an electrothermal RF plasma production system and thruster design, and associated components, that may be used in terrestrial applications and/or miniaturized to the mass, volume, and power budget of Cube Satellites (CubeSats) to meet the propulsion needs of the small satellite (˜5 to ˜500 kg) constellations and larger satellite buses.

The present disclosure provides a cooling structure of heat pipe for superconducting magneto plasma dynamic thruster having a cylindrical structure and includes a cathode, an intermediate connector and an anode. The cathode is arranged inside the intermediate connector, the anode is arranged outside the intermediate connector; the cathode is provided with a cathode cooling mechanism, and the anode is provided with an anode cooling mechanism. The cathode cooling mechanism includes a cathode heat pipe and a cathode heat dissipation fin. The anode heat pipe cooling mechanism includes an anode heat pipe and an anode heat dissipation fin.

A propulsion system providing at least one of propulsion and lift comprising a source of a molecular beam or jet, a plasma generator coupled to the source, a plasma chamber coupled to the source and to the plasma generator to maintain a hydrogen plasma comprising free electrons and H+ ions, a microwave generator, a horn antenna, and a negatively charged, repulsive electrode to repel received electrons that have absorbed microwaves in a directional manner and gained reactionless kinetic energy in a directional manner.

A Hall-effect thruster assembly includes a plurality of magnetic sources for creating a magnetic circuit. The plurality of magnetic sources are positioned between a first end and a second, opposite end of the Hall-effect thruster. The plurality of magnetic sources define a longitudinal axis extending through the first end and the second end. The first end is configured as a discharge end. A mount assembly is coupled to the second end. The mount assembly is configured to secure the plurality of magnetic sources to a spacecraft. A magnetic element is supported by the mount assembly. The magnetic element is positioned relative to the plurality of magnetic sources by the mount assembly.

An intelligent control gas suction-type electric propulsion system applicable to multi-flow regimes: an ultra-low orbit rare gas is used as a working medium for attitude orbit control and resistance compensation propulsion, the gas is collected and inputted into an intelligent feedback pressurization system by means of a parabolic gas intake duct, intelligent feedback and pressurization are performed on the gas working medium by a molecular pump and a gas pump and the medium is stored in a working fluid storage tank so as to supply a hybrid thruster system that consists of seven sets of electric thrusters to generate thrust, which may achieve multiple thrust modes, and achieve the purpose of attitude orbit control and resistance compensation.

An example engine for producing thrust includes: a fuel supply to supply a fuel; a chamber fluidly coupled to the fuel supply to receive the fuel; an induction heating assembly operatively coupled to the chamber to inductively energize the fuel in the chamber; and an exhaust nozzle coupled to the chamber to receive energized fuel from the chamber to produce thrust.

HYPERDRIVE receives continuous air breathing assistance from compressed atmospheric air through a high speed magnetically core driven turbine accelerator which resolves around a common flow path tunnel. The tunnel runs from the front to the back of the engine. It is assisted by a series of radial geometric ramjet engines that share the common flow path tunnel for hypersonic exhaust but has separate inlet air from a linear aerospike which governs mass flow of air, velocity of inlet air and pressure to the turbine and/or ramjets, as well as the positioning of the shock wave at the inlet to reduce aerodynamic drag. The ramjet is of hybrid engine design where it can also function as a scramjet, thus a ram-scramjet structure for combustion in a radial configuration about the engine (aft of an electrical compressor), where the common flow path tunnel also serves as a compression tunnel to compress air through a the constantly occurring series of compression shocks entering from and around the aerospike.