Characteristics of plasma properties in double discharge ablative pulsed plasma thrusters

Ablative pulsed plasma thrusters, the earliest electric space propulsion devices, create highly transient plasmas in short discharges that are expelled to create thrust. In recent years, the double-discharge ablative pulsed plasma thruster design has been proposed to improve the low-thrust efficiency. In this study, optical emission spectroscopy was applied to investigate the plasma properties in different regions and energy distributions. The electron temperature and electron density of the plasmas are derived and discussed. This study provides a physical mechanism for double-discharge pulsed plasma thrusters.