Pulsed plasma thrusters are a method of spacecraft propulsionSpacecraft propulsion is any method used to change the velocity of spacecraft and artificial satellites. There are many different methods. Each method has drawbacks and advantages, and spacecraft propulsion is an active area of research. However, most spacecraft today are propelled by exhausting a gas from the back/rear of the vehicle at very high speed through a supersonic de Laval nozzle. This sort of engine is called a rocket engine. All ...spacecraft propulsion which use an arc of electric current adjacent to a solid propellant, to produce a quick and repeatable burst of impulse{dt}\, dt :\mathbf{I} = \int d\mathbf{p} :\mathbf{I} = \Delta \mathbf{p} As a result, an impulse may also be regarded as the change in momentum of an object to which a force is applied. The impulse may be expressed in a simpler form when both the force and the mass are constant: :\mathbf{I} = \mathbf{F}\Delta t = m \Delta \mathbf{v} where :F is the constant total net force applied, :\Delta t is the time interval over which the force is applied, :m is the ...impulse. PPTs are great for attitude controlIn the context of spacecraft, attitude control is control of the angular position and rotation of the spacecraft, either relative to the object that it is orbiting, or relative to the celestial sphere. In flight dynamics, the orientation is often described using three angles called yaw, pitch and roll.attitude control, and for main propulsion on particularly small spacecraftA spacecraft is a vehicle or device designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters outer space but then returns to the planetary surface (such as Earth) without making a complete orbit. For an orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters a closed orbit around the planetary body. Spacecraft used for human spaceflights carry people on board as crew or passengers. Spacecraft used for robotic space missions operate either autonomously or telerobotically. Robotic spacecraft that leave the vicinity ...spacecraft with a surplus of electricity (those in the hundred-kilogram or less category). However they are also one of the least efficient electric propulsion systems, with a thrust efficiency of less than 10%.

PPTs have much higher exhaust velocitySpecific impulse (usually abbreviated Isp) is a way to describe the efficiency of rocket and jet engines. It represents the impulse (change in momentum) per unit of propellant. The higher the specific impulse, the less propellant is needed to gain a given amount of momentum. Isp is a useful value to compare engines, much like "miles per gallon" is used for cars. A propulsion method with a higher specific impulse is more propellant-efficient. Depending ...exhaust velocity than chemical propulsion engines. According to the Tsiolkovsky equationTsiolkovsky's rocket equation, named after Konstantin Tsiolkovsky who independently derived it and published in his 1903 work,К. Э. Циолковский, Исследование мировых пространств реактивными приборами, 1903. It is available online here considers the principle ...Tsiolkovsky equation this results in proportionally higher final velocity of propelled craft. The principle of operation is acceleration of ionsAn ion is an atom or group of atoms with a net electric charge, having lost (cation) or gained (anion) an electron. Category:Chemical substances Category:Physical chemistry Category:Matter fr:Catégorie:Ion ko:분류:이온 io:Category:Ioni id:Kategori:Ion it:Categoria:Ioni he:קטגוריה:יונים nl:Categorie:Ion ja:Category:イオン pl:Kategoria:Jony fi:Luokka:Ionit tr:Kategori:İyonlar zh:Category:根 ...ions in a strong electric fieldIn physics, the space surrounding an electric charge or in the presence of a time-varying magnetic field has a property called an electric field. This electric field exerts a force on other electrically charged objects. The concept of electric field was introduced by Michael Faraday. The electric field is a vector field with SI units of newtons per coulomb (N C-1) or, equivalently, volts per meter (V m-1). ...electric field to the velocities of the order of hundreds km/s - which is much higher than the thermal velocityThe Thermal velocity is the speed at which a particular particle species happens to travel at a given temperature (Note that, in the strictest sense this means that thermal velocity is not a velocity at all, since velocity usually describes a vector rather than simply a scalar speed). Temperature is understood to be related to random kinetic energy of the individual ...thermal velocity of chemical engines. Chemical propulsion engines with their limited by rate of chemical reaction exhaust velocity (which is in the range of 2-3 km/s) become exponentially ineffective (see TsiolkovskyKonstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (; ) (September 17 [O.S. September 5] 1857 – September 19, 1935) was an Imperial Russian and Soviet rocket scientist and pioneer of astronautic theory who spent most of his life in a log house on the outskirts of Kaluga, about 200 km (125 miles) southwest of Moscow.Tsiolkovsky equation) to achieve high interplanetary speeds (which in Solar system is in 20-70 km/s range).

Pulsed plasma thrusters were the first electric propulsion system to be deployed in space, on the Soviet probes Zond 2Zond 2, a member of the Soviet Zond program, was the fifth Soviet spacecraft to attempt a flyby of Mars. (See Exploration of Mars) Zond-2 carried a phototelevision camera of the same type later used to photograph the Moon on Zond 3. The camera system also included two ultraviolet spectrometers. ...Zond 2, propelling the vehicle from parking at Earth orbit to Mars in Nov 30, 1964, and Zond 3Zond 3, a member of the Soviet Zond program, was the first Zond spacecraft to successfully complete its mission (a Lunar flyby) and took a number of amazing photographs for its time. It is believed that Zond 3 was initially designed as a companion spacecraft to Zond 2 to be launched to Mars during the 1964 launch window. The opportunity to launch was missed, and the spacecraft was launched on a Mars trajectory, although Mars was no longer ...Zond 3 in 1965. The active gas used in the Soviet plasma propulsion engines was argonArgon (IPA:) is a chemical element designated by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table (noble gases). Argon is present in the Earth's atmosphere at slightly less than 1%, making it the most common noble gas ...argon and heliumHelium (He) is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert monatomic chemical element that heads the noble gas series in the periodic table and whose atomic number is 2. Its boiling and melting points are the lowest among the elements and it exists only as a gas except in extreme conditions. Extreme conditions are also needed to create the small handful of helium compounds, which are all unstable at standard temperature and pressure. It has a second, rare, stable isotope which is called helium-3. ...helium. Used as an experimental system for spacecraft orientation control, Soviet engineers subsequently returned to the use of high-pressure nitrogen jets.

Pulsed plasma thrusters were flown in November, 2000 as a flight experiment on the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center EO-1 spacecraft. The thrusters successfully demonstrated the ability to perform roll control on the spacecraft and also demonstrated that the electromagnetic interference from the pulsed plasma did not affect other spacecraft systems. These experiments used TeflonNo quick definition available. Teflon as the propellant.