Modifications to Spacecraft propulsion - Without internal reaction mass
editThere are several different space drives that need little or no reaction mass to function. A tether propulsion system employs a long cable with a high tensile strength to change a spacecraft's orbit, such as by interaction with a planet's magnetic field or through momentum exchange with another object.[1] Solar sails rely on radiation pressure from electromagnetic energy, but they require a large collection surface to function effectively. The magnetic sail deflects charged particles from the solar wind with a magnetic field, thereby imparting momentum to the spacecraft.
or the ISM
A variant is the mini-magnetospheric plasma propulsion system, which uses a small cloud of plasma held in a magnetic field to deflect the Sun's charged particles.
plasma enhanced magnetic sail injects as in M2P2 or its successor MPS or holds as in Plasma magnet
An E-sail would use very thin and lightweight wires holding an electric charge to deflect these particles, and may have more controllable directionality.
Modifications to Spacecraft propulsion- Table of methods
editRows as of 9/10/22
| Method | Effective exhaust
velocity (km/s) |
Thrust (N) | Firing
duration |
Maximum
delta-v (km/s) |
Technology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric sails | 145 – 750, solar wind| style="background: #EEE; vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap; text-align: center; " class="table-Unknown" | ? | ? | Indefinite | >40 | 3: Validated proof-of-concept |
| Magnetic sails | 145 – 750, solar wind | 2/t[2] | Indefinite | ? | 3: Validated proof-of-concept |
| Mini-magnetosphericplasma propulsion | 200 | 1/kW | Months | ? | 3: Validated proof-of-concept[3] |
Magnetic sails: No propellant exhausted. Result is delta-v. 2/t[2] [2] is Cattell, meaning not clear.
M2P2 is from Funaki 13
Citation to MagBeam not applicable.
Changes made 9/13/22
| Method | Effective exhaust
velocity (km/s) |
Thrust (N) | Firing
duration |
Maximum
delta-v (km/s) |
Technology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric sails | 145 – 750, solar wind| | ? | Indefinite | >40 | 3: Validated proof-of-concept |
| Magsail in Solar wind | — | 644[4][a] | Indefinite | 250-750 | 3: Validated proof-of-concept |
| Magneto plasma sail in Solar wind[6] | 278 | 700 | Months | 250-750 | 3: Validated proof-of-concept |
| Magsail deceleration in Interstellar medium[5] | — | 88,000 initially | Years | 15,000 | 3: Validated proof-of-concept |
Freeland 2015
Table Notes
- ^ Drachlis, Dave (October 24, 2002). "NASA calls on industry, academia for in-space propulsion innovations". NASA. Archived from the original on December 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
- ^ a b PSFC/JA-05-26:Physics and Technology of the Feasibility of Plasma Sails, Journal of Geophysical Research, September 2005
- ^ "MagBeam".
- ^ Andrews, Dana; Zubrin, Robert (1990). "MAGNETIC SAILS AND INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL" (PDF). Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 43: 265–272 – via semanticscholar.org.
- ^ a b c Freeland, R.M. (2015). "Mathematics of Magsail". Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 68: 306–323 – via bis-space.com.
- ^ Funaki, Ikkoh; Kajimura, Yoshihiro; Ashida, Yasumasa; Yamakawa, Hiroshi; Nishida, Hiroyuki; Oshio, Yuya; Ueno, Kazuma; Shinohara, Iku; Yamamura, Haruhito; Yamagiwa, Yoshiki (2013-07-14). "Magnetoplasma Sail with Equatorial Ring-current". 49th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference. Joint Propulsion Conferences. San Jose, CA: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi:10.2514/6.2013-3878. ISBN 978-1-62410-222-6.