The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 23, 2018
Filed:
Feb. 17, 2014
The George Washington University, Washington, DC (US);
Michael Keidar, Baltimore, MD (US);
Dereck Chiu, Holmdel, NJ (US);
Taisen Zhuang, Arlington, VA (US);
George Teel, Asheville, NC (US);
Alexy Shashurin, Rockville, MD (US);
The George Washington University, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
A thruster for a micro-satellite is disclosed. The thruster includes a voltage source, an inductor and a resistor. A switching device is coupled to the inductor and the resistor. The thruster includes an exterior electrode composed of a first propellant, an insulator located coaxially within the exterior electrode and an interior electrode composed of a second propellant located coaxially to the insulator and the exterior electrode. An exterior housing has a proximate end and an opposite distal end with a thrust channel. The exterior housing holds the exterior electrode, the insulator and the interior electrode. The switching device is coupled to either the exterior electrode or the interior electrode. The switching device is switched to pulse voltage from the inductor to create an arc between the exterior electrode and the interior electrode. Either the exterior electrode or the interior electrode may serve as a cathode to generate a plasma jet.