On 2/14/2016 6:19 PM, Peter Fairbrother wrote:
On 15/02/16 00:10, David Weinshenker wrote:
On 02/09/2016 02:36 PM, Henry Spencer wrote:
On Sat, 6 Feb 2016, Ed LeBouthillier wrote:
My larger point is that there are other kinds of electrical propulsion
worth considering.
Quite true. For example, anyone who's thinking electric propulsion but
hasn't looked at electrothermal systems is missing what might easily be
the best answer for near-term missions.
So an eletrothermal thruster is basically a rocket (from the
thermodynamic point of view) - requiring a pressurized chamber
(and hence a high-pressure feed system) and an expansion nozzle?
oh no.
Consider a US navy development railgun as a rocket motor, firing solid
projectiles and using the recoil as thrust.
Perhaps not the best model, as they do use gas pressure at least partly,
so maybe a linear accelerator of some stripe.
