John Yim

Papers

Total Citations

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About

John Yim is a leading researcher in electric propulsion, specializing in the thermal management and performance characterization of high-power Hall thrusters for next-generation space missions. His work is central to the development of NASA’s 12.5-kW Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS), a thruster designed to achieve high specific impulse (3,000 seconds), high efficiency (over 60%), and unprecedented operational lifetimes exceeding five years. Yim’s most cited paper, “Hall Thruster Thermal Modeling and Test Data Correlation” (2016, 16 citations), establishes critical methodologies for predicting thermal behavior in these advanced propulsion systems, directly supporting the thruster’s durability and reduced plasma erosion. In his follow-up work, “Non-Contact Thermal Characterization of NASA’s 12.5-kW Hall Thruster” (2015, 8 citations), he pioneered non-invasive thermal measurement techniques that validated thermal models under realistic operating conditions. These contributions are vital to NASA’s Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration Missions, including the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission concept. Yim’s research bridges the gap between theoretical modeling and experimental validation, enabling the development of high-throughput, long-life thrusters that will power future deep-space exploration and cargo transport.