Precision pointing thrustor.

A satellite experiment to test the predicted relativistic precession of a gyroscope moving through a gravitational field has been under development at Stanford University for a number of years. The instruments will be located in a liquid helium bath to insure dimensional stability and to permit using superconducting types of circuitry for readout of the gyro orientation. Heat leaks in the system cause the helium to boil and the resultant helium gas is used for attitude control. The principal subject of the paper is the design and experimental evaluation of an electromagnetically actuated differential thrustor which was built and tested at Stanford University. The results are unique because most propulsion systems operate on-off in order to utilize propellant efficiently. In this case, the gas must flow continually to provide cooling, and the requirements are primarily for low power, small volume, and high reliability.