Electric Sail For Spacecraft Propulsion

Sandroos simulation study of solar wind push on a charged wire.

Electric sail for spacecraft propulsion. See also the continuously updated list of scientific papers and the list of frequently asked questions. The total force exerted on an 800 by 800 meter solar sail for example is about 5 newtons 1 1 lbf at earth s distance from the sun making it a low thrust propulsion system similar to spacecraft propelled by electric engines but as it uses no propellant that force is exerted almost constantly and the collective effect over time is great. Unlike magnetic sails and electric sails it can generate both lift and drag and its maximum velocity is not limited by the speed of the. The electric sail is a new space propulsion concept which uses the solar wind momentum for producing thrust janhunen p electric sail for spacecraft propulsion aiaa journal of propulsion and power 20 4 763 764 2004 janhunen p.

The electric solar wind sail or electric sail for short is a propulsion invention made in 2006 at the kumpula space centre by pekka janhunen for e sail related news please see the electric sail blog it is in finnish but carries a translate button to your language. An electric sail also known as an electric solar wind sail or an e sail is a proposed form of spacecraft propulsion using the dynamic pressure of the solar wind as a source of thrust. The magnetic sail was proposed by dana andrews and robert zubrin working in collaboration in 1988. Requiring no propellant it can be used to thrust in any direction and both accelerate and decelerate spacecraft operating within planetary magnetospheres in interplanetary space and interstellar space.

A follow up mission launched on 3 february 1970 sert 2 carried two ion thrusters one operated for more than five months and the other for almost three months. Trades and analyses performed in a two year nasa investigation of electric sail propulsion systems. At that time andrews was working on a concept to use a magnetic scoop to gather ions to provide propellant for a nuclear electric ion drive spacecraft allowing the craft to operate in the same manner of a bussard ramjet but without the need for a proton proton fusion propulsion drive. Electric sail space flight dynamics and controls.

Researchers are developing an electric sail e sail propulsion system that would harness the solar wind the stream of protons electrons and other charged particles that flows outward from the. An interplanetary vehicle using one of these methods would follow a rather different trajectory either constantly thrusting against its direction of motion in order to decrease its distance from the sun or constantly thrusting along its direction of motion to increase its distance from the sun. It creates a virtual sail by using small wires to form an electric field that deflects solar wind protons and extracts their momentum. The demonstration of electric propulsion was an ion engine carried on board the sert 1 space electric rocket test spacecraft launched on 20 july 1964 and it operated for 31 minutes.

The idea was first conceptualised by pekka janhunen in 2006 at the.