LAUSR

T HE thrust generated by plasma thrusters typically consists of several components, such as gasdynamic, self-field, and applied-field thrust components. Thrust stands generally measure the sum of such components. There is often a need to make an isolated measurement of a component: for instance, when a theoretical model of a certain thrust component requires experimental verification. One thruster that can benefit from isolated-component thrust measurements is the applied-fieldLorentz force accelerator (AF-LFA), for which various models of its applied-field thrust component have been proposed [1–7]. However, applied-field component thrust stands in the literature are limited to low-current (≤ 6 A) solenoids [8], and they are poorly suited to the high currents typical of AF-LFAs, which require cooling and a means of calibrating for electromagnetic tare forces. In this Note, we present a method for directly measuring the applied-field thrust component for high-power thrusters, andwe apply it to the case of a 30 kW steady-state AF-LFA.