US Patent Issued to Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Sept. 2 for "Bi-modal chemical-electric space propulsion" (Massachusetts Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 3 -- United States Patent no. 12,404,041, issued on Sept. 2, was assigned to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Mass.).

"Bi-modal chemical-electric space propulsion" was invented by Paulo C. Lozano (Arlington, Mass.) and Amelia Bruno (Boston).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Bi-modal propulsion systems and related methods are generally described. In some embodiments, a bi-modal propulsion system may employ a single propellant for both chemical thruster(s), operating at elevated pressures, and electrical thruster(s) (e.g., electro spray thruster), operating at reduced pressures. The propellant pressure may be reduced to a desired operational range of the elec...