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:
Apr. 08, 2014
Filed:
Oct. 19, 2009
Rodney L. Burton, Champaign, IL (US);
James Gary Eden, Champaign, IL (US);
Sung-jin Park, Savoy, IL (US);
David L. Carroll, Urbana, IL (US);
Rodney L. Burton, Champaign, IL (US);
James Gary Eden, Champaign, IL (US);
Sung-Jin Park, Savoy, IL (US);
David L. Carroll, Urbana, IL (US);
CU Aerospace, LLC, Champaign, IL (US);
Abstract
It is disclosed herein a breakthrough concept for in-space propulsion for future Air Force, NASA and commercial systems. The invention combines the fields of micro-electrical-mechanical (MEMs) devices, optical physics, and nonequilibrium plasmadynamics to reduce dramatically the size of electric thrusters by 1-2 orders of magnitude, which when coupled with electrodeless operation and high thruster efficiency, will enable scalable, low-cost, long-life distributable propulsion for control of microsats, nanosats, and space structures. The concept is scalable from power levels of 1 W to tens of kilowatts with thrust efficiency exceeding 60%. Ultimate specific impulse would be 500 seconds with helium, with lower values for heavier gases.