Preliminary investigation of power flow and electrode phenomena in a multi-megawatt coaxial plasma thruster

The present report on preliminary results of theoretical and experimental investigations of power flow in a large, unoptimized, multimegawatt coaxial thruster evaluates the significance of these data for the development of efficient, megawatt-class magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters. The good agreement obtained between thruster operational performance and model predictions suggests that ideal MHD processes, including those of a magnetic nozzle, play an important role in coaxial plasma thruster dynamics at power levels relevant to advanced space propulsion. An optimized magnetic nozzle design would aid the development of efficient, multimegawatt MPD thrusters.