Editing Hall-effect thruster (section)

{{Short description|Type of electric propulsion system}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
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[[File:Xenon hall thruster.jpg|thumb|6&nbsp;kW Hall thruster in operation at the [[NASA]] [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]]]

In [[spacecraft propulsion]], a '''Hall-effect thruster''' ('''HET''') is a type of [[ion thruster]] in which the [[propellant]] is accelerated by an [[electric field]]. Hall-effect thrusters (based on the discovery by [[Edwin Hall]]) are sometimes referred to as '''Hall thrusters''' or '''Hall-current thrusters'''. [[Hall effect|Hall-effect]] thrusters use a [[magnetic field]] to limit the electrons' axial motion and then use them to ionize propellant, efficiently accelerate the [[ion]]s to produce [[thrust]], and neutralize the ions in the plume. The Hall-effect thruster is classed as a moderate [[specific impulse]] (1,600{{nbsp}}s) space propulsion technology and has benefited from considerable theoretical and experimental research since the 1960s.<ref>{{cite report |last=Hofer |first=Richard R. |date=June 2004 |title=Development and Characterization of High-Efficiency, High-Specific Impulse Xenon Hall Thrusters |website=NASA Technical Reports Server |id=NASA/CR – 2004-21309 |hdl=2060/20040084644 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Hall thrusters operate on a variety of propellants, the most common being [[xenon]] and [[krypton]].  Other propellants of interest include [[argon]], [[bismuth]], [[iodine]], [[magnesium]], [[zinc]] and [[adamantane]].

Hall thrusters are able to accelerate their exhaust to [[effective exhaust velocity|speeds]] between 10 and 80&nbsp;km/s (1,000–8,000&nbsp;s specific impulse), with most models operating between 15 and 30&nbsp;km/s. The thrust produced depends on the power level. Devices operating at 1.35&nbsp;kW produce about 83&nbsp;mN of thrust. High-power models have demonstrated up to 5.4&nbsp;N in the laboratory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.space.com/38444-mars-thruster-design-breaks-records.html|title=Ion Thruster Prototype Breaks Records in Tests, Could Send Humans to Mars|website=space.com|date=13 October 2017|access-date=27 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320082645/https://www.space.com/38444-mars-thruster-design-breaks-records.html|archive-date=20 March 2018}}</ref> Power levels up to 100&nbsp;kW have been demonstrated for xenon Hall thrusters.

{{As of|2009|post=,}} Hall-effect thrusters ranged in input power levels from 1.35 to 10 kilowatts and had [[exhaust velocity|exhaust velocities]] of 10–50 kilometers per second, with thrust of 40–600 [[millinewton]]s and efficiency in the range of 45–60 percent.<ref name="Choueiri">{{Cite journal|title = New Dawn for Electric Rockets|last = Choueiri|first = Edgar Y.|journal = Scientific American|doi = 10.1038/scientificamerican0209-58|pmid = 19186707|issue =2|volume = 300|pages = 58–65|date = 2009|bibcode = 2009SciAm.300b..58C}}</ref>
The applications of Hall-effect thrusters include control of the orientation and position of orbiting [[satellite]]s and use as a main propulsion engine for medium-size robotic space vehicles.<ref name="Choueiri" />