An analysis of the problems that arise in the development of stationary plasma thrusters operating with krypton, an alternative to the traditional xenon propellant, is presented. The basic physical principles and results that determined the development of thrusters operating with Xe are considered. It is shown that they can be used in the development of the thrusters operating with krypton, taking into account its features as a propellant. The main feature is the need to operate at increased mass flow rate and power densities in the acceleration channel. This leads to an increase in the accelerated ion flows on the discharge chamber walls and their erosion rate, reduces the thruster efficiency and life time. We present a review of studies performed at the Research Institute of Applied Mechanics and Electrodynamics MAI on the possibility of reducing ion flows to the walls of the discharge chamber in a stationary plasma thruster operating with krypton in order to increase its thrust efficiency and service life.
Akhmetzhanov et al. (2025) studied this question.