Electromagnetic Acceleration Characteristics of Laser-Electric Hybrid Thrusters

A fundamental study on a laser-electric hybrid thruster was conducted, in which laser-induced plasmas were generated through laser beam irradiation on to a solid target and accelerated by electrical means instead of direct acceleration using only a laser beam. As two typical cases of the hybrid propulsion systems, a feasibility study on electrostatic acceleration mode and electromagnetic acceleration mode of the laser ablation plasma were conducted including thrust performance tests with a torsion-balance, ion current measurements, and ICCD camera observations. It was confirmed that the thrust performances could be improved with electric energy inputs