Application on performance analysis of solid impulsive thruster with digital camera

The solid propellant impulsive thruster performance was analyzed from the plume image with a high-speed digital camera. With the high-speed photography the impulsive thruster exhaust plume characteristics can show not only the ignition and thrust capability, but also the energy efficiency of the thruster. It is concluded that the impulsive thruster performance can be improved by using the plume image analysis, especially with the complement of combination of image analysis and thrust and/or pressure analysis.