High speed spacecraft propulsion utilizing coupling to the solar wind

Details High speed spacecraft propulsion utilizing coupling to the solar wind High speed spacecraft propulsion utilizing coupling to the solar wind

Nov 1999

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999aps..dppjp1111w&link_type=abstract

American Physical Society, 41st Annual Meeting of the Division of Plasma Physics, November 15-19, 1999 Seattle, WA, abstract #JP

Physics

Plasma Physics

Scientific paper

For missions to the outer solar system and beyond, spacecraft will be required to attain speeds in excess of 50 km/s. This speed cannot be achieved through chemical propellants, and if the spacecraft is limited to solar electric power, then energy must be supplied to it from an external source. A new innovative means for high speed propulsion, call Mini-Magnetospheric Plasma Propulsion, M2P2 is described. This system seeks to deploy a large-scale magnetic bubble or mini-magnetosphere around and attached to the spacecraft. This magnetic bubble will be picked up by the solar wind which is traveling at 350 to 800 km/s and produce a force in excess of a newton on the spacecraft for minimal mass and energy requirements so that a 100 kg spacecraft can attain speeds in excess of 50 km/s within a 3 month acceleration period. It is able to do so because the M2P2 system utilizes low energy plasma to transport or inflate the magnetic field, in much the same way as planetary magnetospheres are formed. It is shown that the plasma injection can produce orders of magnitude stretching of the magnetic field beyond its vacuum configuration to provide efficient coupling to the higher-speed solar wind. The paper describes the physical principles of the system and results from a laboratory prototype.

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