A method for autonomously controlling electric power supplied to a thruster of a spacecraft during electric orbit raising includes determining a state of charge of a battery onboard the spacecraft at an entry into an eclipse during each orbit of a plurality of orbits during the electric orbit raising of the spacecraft. The method also includes determining an electric power level used to fire each thruster of a plurality of thrusters during each orbit beginning after the eclipse, based at least on the state of charge of the battery, and that will provide a shortest electric orbit raising duration and minimize thruster propellant usage during electric orbit raising.

A method for autonomously controlling electric power supplied to a thruster of a spacecraft during electric orbit raising includes determining a state of charge of a battery onboard the spacecraft at an entry into an eclipse during each orbit of a plurality of orbits during the electric orbit raising of the spacecraft. The method also includes determining an electric power level used to fire each thruster of a plurality of thrusters during each orbit beginning after the eclipse, based at least on the state of charge of the battery, and that will provide a shortest electric orbit raising duration and minimize thruster propellant usage during electric orbit raising.

An apparatus, system and method for generating ionosonic lift is provided. First and second control electrodes are attached in a spaced-apart relation proximal to a top surface of a wing. An alternating potential applied to the first and second control electrodes alternately attracts and repels ions of a fluid in which the wing is immersed, causing a reciprocating flow of the ions of the fluid and of neutral molecules between the first and second control electrodes. The reciprocating flow of the ions and neutral molecules causes a reduction in pressure at the top surface of the wing, resulting in net lift applied to the wing under the Bernoulli relation.

A flying capacitor multilevel (FCML) converter including a gate driver circuit comprising a DC-DC flyback converter having a plurality of isolated outputs. In various examples, the FCML circuit further includes a first control circuit connected to the FCML circuit determining the load current associated with a desired power output from the load; and determining a desired output voltage associated with the load current; a second control circuit that drives an inductor current (I.sub.L) through the inductor so that the output applies an output voltage comprising the desired output voltage; and a third control circuit obtaining a comparison of an average of the inductor current (I.sub.L) through the inductor with a predetermined reference current (I.sub.LREF) and setting the duty cycle so that the average does not exceed the predetermined reference current. Also described is the converter driving a load comprising a plasma and a propulsion system comprising the converter.

An ion thruster (1) and a method for providing trust is disclosed. The ion thruster comprises a sputtering magnetron (2), a target (3) arranged at the sputtering magnetron, and a second electrode (4). During a first pulse, the target is at a negative potential (U.sub.HiP) with respect to a second electrode and a plasma is sustained whereby atoms are sputtered from the target and at least a portion thereof become ionised by the plasma. During a second pulse, a reversed potential (U.sub.rev) is applied between the target and the second electrode. This increases the potential of a volume of the plasma adjacent to the target, which in turn accelerates ions in a direction away from the target. Thereby, thrust is provided.

The disclosure further relates to a computer program and a computer readable medium, as well as a spacecraft comprising the ion thruster.

A time average peak value of low frequency magnetic noise or low frequency conductive noise generated from a power supply device which drives a Hall thruster is suppressed without mass of a satellite significantly increased. A pulse width control circuit (22) of a Hall thruster power supply device (10) outputs a spread signal (58) obtained by performing spread spectrum on a pulse signal based on a control signal (54). A voltage output circuit (21) outputs output voltage (52) to a Hall thruster (50) in accordance with the spread signal (58) output by the pulse width control circuit (22).

A thruster for a micro-satellite is disclosed. The thruster includes a cathode composed of a propellant material and an anode composed of ablative material. The thruster includes a housing having a proximate end and an opposite distal end having a thrust channel. The housing holds the anode and the cathode. A pulsed voltage source is coupled between the cathode and the anode causing current sufficient to create ablation of the anode and a plasma jet including ablated particles from the anode to be emitted from the thrust channel.

The DC/DC converter circuit includes: a primary-side circuit configured to convert DC power from a DC power source into a pulse voltage; an isolation transformer configured to transform the pulse voltage while isolating the pulse voltage; a secondary-side circuit connectable in a switching manner by a switching circuit to one of a rectifier circuit for a high-voltage low-current output mode or a current doubler circuit for a low-voltage high-current output mode; and a control circuit configured to perform connection switching control of the switching circuit so as to establish, depending on target supply power, connection to the rectifier circuit in the high-voltage low-current output mode, and connection to the current doubler circuit in the low-voltage high-current output mode.

The present disclosure provides a plasma electric propulsion device comprising a capacitive energy storage device as a power source for an engine configured to heat and/or ionize and/or accelerate a propellant due to action of an electric field and/or magnetic field. The energy storage device comprises: a first electrically conductive electrode, a second electrically conductive electrode; and at least one metadielectric layer located between the first and second conductive electrodes. The metadielectric layer comprises at least one organic compound with at least one electrically resistive substituent and at least one polarizable unit. The polarizable unit is selected from intramolecular and intermolecular polarizable units. The organic compound is selected from the list comprising compounds with rigid electro-polarizable organic units, composite organic polarizable compounds, composite electro-polarizable organic compounds, composite non-linear electro-polarizable compounds, Sharp polymers, Furuta co-polymers, para-Furuta polymers, YanLi polymers, and any combination thereof.

An electrically controlled interfacial force generation device includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a cell disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The cell includes a material that produces a mass in response to a bias voltage being applied across the first electrode and the second electrode. The device also includes a first wall at one end of the cell and extending between the first electrode and the second electrode. The device further includes an electrical power supply configured to provide a variable gradient voltage across the first electrode and the second electrode. A variable electric field gradient is produced and altered within the cell in response to the variable gradient voltage being altered. Altering the variable electric field gradient causes the mass to propagate across the cell and to impact the first wall transferring a force to the first wall.