US 12,330,816 B1
Advanced electric resistance thermal propulsion systems
Robert Alan Hickman, Chapel Hill, NC (US)
Filed by Robert Alan Hickman, Chapel Hill, NC (US)
Filed on May 20, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/669,146.
Int. Cl. B64G 1/40 (2006.01)
CPC B64G 1/409 (2013.01) [B64G 1/40 (2013.01); B64G 1/415 (2023.08)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electric resistance thermal thruster, comprising:
a heating chamber;
a power source configured to provide electrical power;
a heat exchanger located within the heating chamber and operably connected to the power source; and
a nozzle, wherein
the heat exchanger is constructed from at least one ultra-high temperature ceramic,
the heat exchanger is configured to resistively conduct an electrical current from the power source, thereby generating heat for the heating chamber to heat propellant when passed therethrough,
the propellant is liquid hydrogen (H2),
the heat exchanger is configured to operate at a temperature greater than 3,000 Kelvin (K) and a pressure of less than 1 megapascal (MPa), thereby causing production of monoatomic hydrogen (H1) from the H2 propellant, and
the nozzle is an extended nozzle comprising a length greater than 12 times a throat diameter of the extended nozzle in order to provide a greater opportunity for the H1 to recombine to form H2.