A Pulsed Laser-Electromagnetic Hybrid Accelerator For Space Propulsion Application

A fundamental study of a newly developed rectangular pulsed laser-electromagnetic hybrid thruster was conducted, in which laser-ablation plasma was induced through laser beam irradiation onto a solid target and accelerated by electrical means instead of direct acceleration only by using a laser beam. The performance of the thruster was evaluated by measuring the mass per shot and impulse bit. As results, significantly high specific impulse ranging from 5,000 ∼6,000 sec were obtained at energies of 0.1 and 8.6 J, respectively. In addition, the typical thrust efficiency varied from 17% to 19% depending on the charge energy.