This paper explores the wide-ranging topography of micro-propulsion systems that have
been flown in different small satellite missions. CubeSats, known for their compact size and …

Iodine is emerging as an attractive alternative propellant to xenon for several electric
propulsion technologies due to its significantly lower cost and its ability to be stored …

The rising deployment numbers of electric propulsion systems and the increased price of
noble gas propellants have created the demand for alternative propellants. Iodine is a very …

A self-consistent model is presented for performing steady-state fully kinetic particle-in-cell
simulations of magnetised plasma plumes. An energy-based electron reflection prevents the …

This work focuses on a numerical suite targeted at cathodeless plasma thrusters. A Global
Model is used for preliminary estimation of the propulsive performance. In the plasma …

This article is devoted to the presentation of a semianalytical model of a helicon plasma
thruster based on: 1) a 0-D global source model (GSM) for the simulation of the plasma …

In recent years, the increasing demand for simple and low-cost propulsion for small satellites
has given rise to a growing interest in low-power cathode-less plasma thrusters. Plasma is …

The dynamics of xenon atoms and ions expanding in the magnetic nozzle (MN) of a helicon
plasma thruster is studied by means of near-infrared laser-induced fluorescence …

A three-dimensional fully kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation strategy has been
implemented to simulate the acceleration stage of a magnetically enhanced plasma thruster …

A theoretical model is proposed to preliminary assess the performance of plasma-based
reflecting and transmitting surfaces. The model has been verified and, subsequently …