Patent ID: 11945606
Assignee: BALL AEROSPACE & TECHNOLOGIES CORP.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 13:
14. A spacecraft propulsion method, comprising:
storing a metallic propellant in a first storage tank;
storing a non-metallic propellant in a second storage tank;
supplying at least a portion of the non-metallic propellant from the second storage tank to an electric propulsion thruster during a first spacecraft mission phase, wherein during the first spacecraft mission phase an instrument carried by the spacecraft that is sensitive to the metallic propellant is in a vulnerable state; and
supplying at least a portion of the metallic propellant from the first storage tank to the electric propulsion thruster during a second spacecraft mission phase, wherein during the second spacecraft mission phase the instrument carried by the spacecraft that is sensitive to the metallic propellant is not in a vulnerable state.