Design and Construction of the PT-1 Prototype Plasmoid Thruster.

The design and construction of a plasmoid thruster prototype is described. This thruster operates by expelling pre-detached plasmoids at high velocities. These plasmoids are field reversed configuration plasmas which are formed by reversing a magnetic flux frozen in an ionized gas inside a theta-pinch coil. The pinch coil is a unique multi-turn, multi-lead design chosen for optimization of inductance and field uniformity. The coil is wound around an alumina ceramic core and the operation of the thruster is completely electrode-less. The design of this thruster follows a series of experiments at NASA MSFC based on a single turn theta-pinch coil called the “Plasmoid Thruster Experiment.” Key issues are addressed which affect the efficiency of the PT-1. Testing of this device will begin in FY06 at the NASA MSFC Propulsion Research Center. © 2006 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]