Driving towards the Future: A Comprehensive Analysis of Plasma Thruster Developments

Abstract:

Ion thrusters have established themselves as a reliable and effective replacement for traditional propulsion systems. Even though they create a significantly less thrust than chemical propulsion systems, ion thrusters may readily compete because of their extremely high specific impulse output and very low fuel consumption. The system is applicable to a wide range of mission requirements, including multi-goal missions, orbit and attitude controlling, and orbit station keeping for geostationary satellites. Even though chemical propulsion is a poor choice for deep space missions, ion thrusters are enabling missions to travel ten times farther into deep space. The aim of this paper is to provides a concise overview of electric propulsion technologies, concentrating on the development and functionality of the Ion Thruster. Keywords: Plasma thruster, Propellent, Plasma Physics

• Periodical: Engineering Headway (Volume 26)
• Pages: 15-19
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-tI0TjQ
• Online since: August 2025
• Authors: Ansh Chawla*, Achintya Bansal, Anshika Goyal, Sankalp Mathur, Sonal Khurana, Lakshika Chutani, Vanita Bhardwaj
• Keywords: Plasma Physics, Plasma Thruster, Propellent

References

[1] Sukhmander, S., et al., Introduction to Plasma Based Propulsion System: Hall Thrusters, in Propulsion, M. Kazuo and H. Hiroaki, Editors. 2021, IntechOpen: Rijeka. p. Ch. 4.

[2] Ling, W.Y.L., et al., A brief review of alternative propellants and requirements for pulsed plasma thrusters in micropropulsion applications. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 2020. 33(12): pp.2999-3010.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cja.2020.03.024

[3] Lim, J.W.M., et al., Plasma parameters and discharge characteristics of lab-based krypton-propelled miniaturized Hall thruster. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, 2019. 28(6): p.064003.

DOI: 10.1088/1361-6595/ab07db

[4] Ye, D., J. Li, and J. Tang, Jet propulsion by microwave air plasma in the atmosphere. AIP Advances, 2020. 10(5).

DOI: 10.1063/5.0005814

[5] Zheng, J., et al., Integrated study on the comprehensive magnetic-field configuration performance in the 150 kW superconducting magnetoplasmadynamic thruster. Scientific Reports, 2021. 11(1): p.20706.

[6] Li, J., et al., Particle Simulation Model for Self-Field Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster. Energies, 2019. 12(8): p.1579.

DOI: 10.3390/en12081579