Patent ID: 7641150

Claim:
A solid propellant-based space propulsion device comprising: solid-propellant support means for supporting a solid propellant; a solid-propellant attachment surface for permitting said solid propellant supported by said solid-propellant support means to be attached thereon on a portion-by-portion basis from the side of an end of said solid propellant; solid-propellant feed means for moving the solid propellant supported by said solid-propellant support means toward said solid-propellant attachment surface to feed said solid propellant to an attachment position for attaching the solid-propellant onto said solid-propellant attachment surface; adhesion-energy supply means for heatingly melting or sublimating a portion of the solid propellant fed to be in contact with or adjacent to said attachment position on said solid-propellant attachment surface, so as to adherently attach the portion of said solid propellant onto said solid-propellant attachment surface; solid-propellant transfer means for moving said solid-propellant attachment surface having a area for adherently holding the solid propellant thereon, to transfer said solid propellant adherently held on said area to a release position for releasing said solid propellant; and propulsive-energy supply means for energizing the solid propellant transferred to said release position to release said solid propellant from said solid-propellant attachment surface, toward a downstream side thereof as a propulsive jet, while accelerating the solid propellant in a direction approximately perpendicular to said solid-propellant attachment surface at said release position, wherein said solid-propellant transfer means is designed to move said solid-propellant attachment surface in such a manner that said area for adherently holding the solid propellant is returned to a position adjacent to the end of said solid propellant in a repetitive manner.