Thrust Measurement of a Pure Magnetic Sail Using the Parallelogram-Pendulum Method

The thrust measurement of a pure magnetic sail using the parallelogram -pendulum method was studied by supplying from a hydrogen MPD arcjet with a high velocity. The experiment employed a magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) arcjet selected as a solar wind simulator (SWS) to produce a plasma flow simulating the soalr wind, and was finally attached to a 2.5m diameter vacuum chamber. The study incorporated three coils with nearly same magnetic moment, where the impulse is evaluated from the difference between the maximum displacement with or without coil current. The results shows that the thrust data of a pure magsail for various magnetic moments, and is directly proportional to each other, due to large electromagnetic noises at the highest coil current.