Thrust Production Mechanism of Magnetic Sail Spacecraft with Superconducting Coils
- Paper number
IAC-08.C4.6.9
- Author
Mr. daisuke sasaki, Kyoto University, Japan
- Coauthor
Dr. Ikkoh Funaki, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan
- Coauthor
Prof. Hiroshi Yamakawa , Kyoto University, Japan
- Coauthor
Dr. Hideyuki Usui, Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Japan
- Coauthor
Dr. Hirotsugu Kojima, Japan
- Year
2008
- Abstract
Advanced exploration of the planets of the solar system is and will be realized by spacecraft, such as the Hayabusa (MUSES-C) spacecraft and the BepiColombo mission to Mercury, with electric propulsion with high specific impulse. In the near future, there will be a strong demand for exploration of the outer solar system and beyond. These challenging missions require quite a high propulsion capability in terms of the specific impulse or the thrust-to-power ratio, larger than the current electric propulsion system. To realize such a high-efficiency propulsion system, many advanced systems are investigated to utilize the solar energy. One of them is magnetic sail. Magnetic sail is a deep space propulsion concept, whose thrust is generated, by utilizing the interaction between the plasma-flow solar wind and an artificial magnetic field produced around the spacecraft. It can be said that the solar wind energy is changed to the thrust of the magnetic sail, which generates a continuous high thrust in the outward radial direction from the sun, which may achieve short flight-time traveling to planets in the solar system. The first magnetic sail concept was proposed by Zubrin and augmented by Winglee in 2000 by introducing the plasma injection to inflate the artificial magnetic field. In order to get a continuous, high thrust, the use of a superconducting coil for generating the artificial magnetic field is appropriate, since a strong, continuous electric current can be maintained in superconducting materials without heat loss. So far, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations including the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetic field are performed to reveal the thrust production mechanism. But, superconductivity effect is not considered so far. This is the motivation of our study for the MHD simulation of the magnetic sail in terms of superconductive effect. The constant magnetic-flux characteristics of superconducting coils have an influence on the interaction between the solar wind and the induced magnetic field. The altered magnetic field distribution around the superconducting coil affects, in turn, the thrust of the magnetic sail. By using the MHD simulation code, ZEUS-2D, we reveal the difference of the thrust between those with normal conductivity and with superconductivity.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-08.C4.6.9.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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