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25. Electric Sail Test Cube–Lunar Nanospacecraft, ESTCube-LuNa: Solar Wind Propulsion Demonstration Mission Concept

Author

Slavinskis, Andris, primary, Palos, Mario F., additional, Dalbins, Janis, additional, Janhunen, Pekka, additional, Tajmar, Martin, additional, Ivchenko, Nickolay, additional, Rohtsalu, Agnes, additional, Micciani, Aldo, additional, Orsini, Nicola, additional, Moor, Karl Mattias, additional, Kuzmin, Sergei, additional, Bleiders, Marcis, additional, Donerblics, Marcis, additional, Ofodile, Ikechukwu, additional, Kütt, Johan, additional, Eenmäe, Tõnis, additional, Allik, Viljo, additional, Viru, Jaan, additional, Halapuu, Pätris, additional, Kristmann, Katriin, additional, Sate, Janis, additional, Briede, Endija, additional, Anger, Marius, additional, Aas, Katarina, additional, Plonis, Gustavs, additional, Teras, Hans, additional, Allaje, Kristo, additional, Vaivads, Andris, additional, Niccolai, Lorenzo, additional, Bassetto, Marco, additional, Mengali, Giovanni, additional, Toivanen, Petri, additional, Iakubivskyi, Iaroslav, additional, Pajusalu, Mihkel, additional, and Tamm, Antti, additional

Published
2024
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33. Analytical Tool for Thrust Vector Description of a Web-Shaped E-Sail

Author

Bassetto, Marco, Quarta, Alessandro A., and Mengali, Giovanni

Abstract

An electric solar wind sail (E-sail) is a propellantless propulsion system that generates thrust in the interplanetary space by extracting momentum from the stream of solar wind ions by means of a number of long, electrically charged tethers. In its usual configuration, the E-sail consists of a series of radially deployed tethers that belong to a fundamental plane, typically referred to as “nominal plane”. Specifically, the tether assembly is unfolded and maintained stretched via centrifugal force by rotating the spacecraft around a spin axis, which must be suitably oriented during the flight to govern, although within certain limits, the direction of the thrust vector induced by the E-sail. In this article, different E-sail geometric configurations are analyzed, in which the addition of azimuthal conducting tethers to the radial ones gives the E-sail a spider web shape, thus allowing its moment of inertia to be reduced significantly compared with a conventional configuration of equal propulsive performance. More precisely, this article presents an analytical model that enables a quick description of both the thrust vector and the inertia characteristics of a web-shaped E-sail.

Published
2024
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36. Electric Sail Test Cube–Lunar Nanospacecraft, ESTCube-LuNa: Solar Wind Propulsion Demonstration Mission Concept

Author

Slavinskis, Andris, Palos, Mario F., Dalbins, Janis, Janhunen, Pekka, Tajmar, Martin, Ivchenko, Nickolay, Rohtsalu, Agnes, Micciani, Aldo, Orsini, Nicola, Moor, Karl Mattias, Kuzmin, Sergei, Bleiders, Marcis, Donerblics, Marcis, Ofodile, Ikechukwu, Kütt, Johan, Eenmäe, Tõnis, Allik, Viljo, Viru, Jaan, Halapuu, Pätris, Kristmann, Katriin, Sate, Janis, Briede, Endija, Anger, Marius, Aas, Katarina, Plonis, Gustavs, Teras, Hans, Allaje, Kristo, Vaivads, Andris, Niccolai, Lorenzo, Bassetto, Marco, Mengali, Giovanni, Toivanen, Petri, Iakubivskyi, Iaroslav, Pajusalu, Mihkel, Tamm, Antti, Slavinskis, Andris, Palos, Mario F., Dalbins, Janis, Janhunen, Pekka, Tajmar, Martin, Ivchenko, Nickolay, Rohtsalu, Agnes, Micciani, Aldo, Orsini, Nicola, Moor, Karl Mattias, Kuzmin, Sergei, Bleiders, Marcis, Donerblics, Marcis, Ofodile, Ikechukwu, Kütt, Johan, Eenmäe, Tõnis, Allik, Viljo, Viru, Jaan, Halapuu, Pätris, Kristmann, Katriin, Sate, Janis, Briede, Endija, Anger, Marius, Aas, Katarina, Plonis, Gustavs, Teras, Hans, Allaje, Kristo, Vaivads, Andris, Niccolai, Lorenzo, Bassetto, Marco, Mengali, Giovanni, Toivanen, Petri, Iakubivskyi, Iaroslav, Pajusalu, Mihkel, and Tamm, Antti

Abstract

The electric solar wind sail, or E-sail, is a propellantless interplanetary propulsion system concept. By deflecting solar wind particles off their original course, it can generate a propulsive effect with nothing more than an electric charge. The high-voltage charge is applied to one or multiple centrifugally deployed hair-thin tethers, around which an electrostatic sheath is created. Electron emitters are required to compensate for the electron current gathered by the tether. The electric sail can also be utilised in low Earth orbit, or LEO, when passing through the ionosphere, where it serves as a plasma brake for deorbiting—several missions have been dedicated to LEO demonstration. In this article, we propose the ESTCube-LuNa mission concept and the preliminary cubesat design to be launched into the Moon’s orbit, where the solar wind is uninterrupted, except for the lunar wake and when the Moon is in the Earth’s magnetosphere. This article introduces E-sail demonstration experiments and the preliminary payload design, along with E-sail thrust validation and environment characterisation methods, a cis-lunar cubesat platform solution and an early concept of operations. The proposed lunar nanospacecraft concept is designed without a deep space network, typically used for lunar and deep space operations. Instead, radio telescopes are being repurposed for communications and radio frequency ranging, and celestial optical navigation is developed for on-board orbit determination.

Published
2024

40. Trajectory Approximation of a Low-Performance E-Sail with Fixed Orientation.

Author

Quarta, Alessandro A. and Mengali, Giovanni

Subjects
EARTH'S orbit, PROPULSION systems, MICROSPACECRAFT, SOLAR sails, SOLAR wind
Abstract

The Electric Solar Wind Sail (E-sail) is a propellantless propulsion system that converts solar wind dynamic pressure into a deep-space thrust through a grid of long conducting tethers. The first flight test, needed to experience the true potential of the E-sail concept, is likely to be carried out using a single spinning cable deployed from a small satellite, such as a CubeSat. This specific configuration poses severe limitations to both the performance and the maneuverability of the spacecraft used to analyze the actual in situ thruster capabilities. In fact, the direction of the spin axis in a single-tether configuration can be considered fixed in an inertial reference frame, so that the classic sail pitch angle is no longer a control variable during the interplanetary flight. This paper aims to determine the polar form of the propelled trajectory and the characteristics of the osculating orbit of a spacecraft propelled by a low-performance spinning E-sail with an inertially fixed axis of rotation. Assuming that the spacecraft starts the trajectory from a parking orbit that coincides with the Earth's heliocentric orbit and that its spin axis belongs to the plane of the ecliptic, a procedure is illustrated to solve the problem accurately with a set of simple analytical relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2024
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49. Fast E-sail Uranus entry probe mission

Author

Janhunen, Pekka, Lebreton, Jean-Pierre, Merikallio, Sini, Paton, Mark, Mengali, Giovanni, and Quarta, Alessandro A.

Subjects
Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract

The electric solar wind sail is a novel propellantless space propulsion concept. According to numerical estimates, the electric solar wind sail can produce a large total impulse per propulsion system mass. Here we consider using a 0.5 N electric solar wind sail for boosting a 550 kg spacecraft to Uranus in less than 6 years. The spacecraft is a stack consisting of the electric solar wind sail module which is jettisoned roughly at Saturn distance, a carrier module and a probe for Uranus atmospheric entry. The carrier module has a chemical propulsion ability for orbital corrections and it uses its antenna for picking up the probe's data transmission and later relaying it to Earth. The scientific output of the mission is similar to what the Galileo Probe did at Jupiter. Measurements of the chemical and isotope composition of the Uranian atmosphere can give key constraints to different formation theories of the Solar System. A similar method could also be applied to other giant planets and Titan by using a fleet of more or less identical probes., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, Meudon Uranus workshop (Sept 16-18, 2013) special issue of Planetary and Space Science

Published
2013
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