Electric Propulsion: Systems Analysis and Potential Application in Space Exploration (original) (raw)

Electric propulsion is a technology which has the potential to achieve success in deep space interstellar travel as well as space tourism. Electric propulsion is the new age technology, emerging into a more practical concept and enabling us to foster new capabilities and achievements for space missions. The first phase of electric propulsion i.e. the history accounts from the first electric propulsion demonstration of Ion propulsion in SERT-1, 1964 to the NSTAR thruster which has 16,246 hours of operation and the successful missions to which electric propulsion was associated. The purity of the concept is embedded in the understanding of fundamentals and principles i.e. rocket acceleration ∝ discharge of propellant mass, its equation of motion follows directly from conservation of the total momentum of the spacecraft and its exhaust stream matching the propeller and the engine, one must pay particular attention to the dependency between the power P and the generated thrust k. Electric propulsion systems and its particular application-based design is classified in ion & plasma drives and non-ion drives, where the former is sub-classified in electrostatic, electrothermal and electromagnetic propulsion while the latter into photonic propulsion and unconventional propulsion. The comparative analysis provides critical information about the parameters deciding its application in real time scenario such as exhaust emission, efficiency, SPED value, power-to-weight ratio along with the future scope for potential research.