tot mpropg0 (1) where Itot is the total impulse, mprop is the total propellant mass loss, and g0 is the gravitational constant. The thruster will be configured on the thrust stand such that the impulse generated by the discharge and the steady-state force generated by the propellant mass loss act in the same direction. The combined signal from these effects can then be decoupled to assess the ratio of the impulse to the weight of propellant expended, yielding the specific impulse.
