Description

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Fundamentals of Electric Propulsion

Understand the fundamental basis of spaceflight with this cutting-edge guide

As spacecraft engineering continues to advance, so too do the propulsion methods by which human beings can seek out the stars. Ion thrusters and Hall thrusters have been the subject of considerable innovation in recent years, and spacecraft propulsion has never been more efficient. For professionals within and adjacent to spacecraft engineering, this is critical knowledge that can alter the future of space flight.

Fundamentals of Electric Propulsion offers a thorough grounding in electric propulsion for spacecraft, particularly the features and mechanisms underlying Ion and Hall thrusters. Updated in the light of rapidly expanding knowledge, the second edition of this essential guide detailed coverage of thruster principles, plasma physics, and more. It reflects the historic output of the legendary Jet Propulsion Laboratory and promises to continue as a must-own volume for spacecraft engineering professionals.

Readers of the second edition of Fundamentals of Electric Propulsion readers will also find:

• Extensive updates to chapters covering hollow cathodes and Hall thrusters, based on vigorous recent research
• New sections covering magnetic shielding, cathode plume instabilities, and more
• Figures and homework problems in each chapter to facilitate learning and retention

Fundamentals of Electric Propulsion is an essential work for spacecraft engineers and researchers working in spacecraft propulsion and related fields, as well as graduate students in electric propulsion, aerospace science, and space science courses.

About the Author

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Dan M. Goebel, PhD, is a Fellow and Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Adjunct Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Electrical Engineering at UCLA. He is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, and also a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the IEEE, the AIAA, and the American Physical Society. He is presently the Chief Engineer of the NASA Psyche Mission. Ira Katz, PhD, is an Aerospace Consultant specializing in electric propulsion and spacecraft charging. He retired from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory after leading the Electric Propulsion group and researching electric propulsion physics. Previously, he worked in industry investigating spacecraft charging and headed the team that developed the NASA Charging Analyzer Program, NASCAP. Ioannis G. Mikellides, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a Fellow of the AIAA. In the last three decades his research on the theory and numerical simulation of plasmas has spanned a wide range of applications, both in and beyond electric propulsion. He is also the main author of the scientific plasma codes OrCa2D and Hall2De, which have been supporting NASA's space flight qualification of hollow cathodes and Hall thrusters.