The invention belongs to the field of electric thrust and particularly relates to a micro-
cathode electric arc thruster applied to a micro-
nano satellite. The micro-
cathode electric arc thruster is mainly applied to power systems of small satellites such as the micro-
nano satellite. According to the micro-
cathode electric arc thruster, aiming at solving the problem that an existing micro-
nano satellite is not provided with a propelling
system, through the vacuum cathodic electric arc discharging principle, an integral electric thruster structure is designed. The thruster structure is mainly composed of a shell 1, a cathodic working medium 2, a spring 3, a
ceramic cylinder 4, a base 5, fixing nuts 6, nut fastening bolts 7, an
anode 8, a
conductive coating film layer 9 and a magnetic coil 10. When a preset
voltage is achieved between a cathode and the
anode,
cathode spots conduct discharging, spreading is gradually conducted, and the cathodic working medium is continuously subjected to
ionization corrosion to form a stable
plasma plume. The
plasma plume is sprayed outwards under the effect of an applied
magnetic field to form needed counteractive thrust. The micro-cathode electric arc thruster is small in overall structural size and low in weight.