Advanced Technology in Propulsion - ELECTRON SPIRAL TOROID PROPULSION (EST)

ELECTRON SPIRAL TOROID PROPULSION (EST)

          A revolutionary method has been discovered to store large amounts of energy as magnetic field energy with virtually no mass, using the newly patented Electron Spiral Toroid (EST). The EST has large total energy and low mass, potentially resulting in the advances of the space propulsion. An EST is calculated to store 10 12 joules of magnetic field energy in a containment of 235 kg, replacing a Titan rocket's 700,000 kg of fuel with 32 kg of thruster gas.

    

   

 The EST is a hollow toroid of electrons, all spiraling in parallel paths in a thin outer surface. The EST is charge neutral, being surrounded by ions which provide the small electric field. This makes the EST force free. The parallel paths are current loops, which create a very large internal magnetic field. Microwave energy may be added to raise electrons to 10,000 ev. Propulsion would heat ions without combustion through collisions with the EST surface, ejecting them for thrust. The ions are contained by electric fields until ejected; thus protecting mechanical parts. The thrust can be shut off when required. Proof-of-concept tests have shown EST energy loss rates to be small.

WATER THE ULTIMATE PROPELLANT

Advanced Technology in Propulsion - PLASMA BALLON

PLASMA BALLON

         One intriguing prospect is a propellant less propulsion concept called as plasma sail. The concept was developed by Robert Winglee, a scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle. This Mini-Magnetosphere Plasma Propulsion, or M2P2 for short, takes advantage of the natural environment of space. M2P2 technology creates a huge magnetic bubble around an interplanetary craft. In deploying the mini-magnetosphere, this plasma "balloon" interacts with high-speed ionized particles shed by the Sun which, in turn, push the vehicle through space.  Plasma sail technologies are faster

than ion and chemical propulsion and therefore could cut conventional trip times to the outer planets in half.

AEROCAPTURE

         

           Aerocapture technology is a flight maneuver that inserts a spacecraft into orbit around a planet or moon by using the destination's atmosphere like a "brake." The dense atmosphere creates friction, which is used to slow down a craft, transferring the energy associated with the vehicle's high speed into heat. Therefore this approach requires significant thermal protection. There is no need for any on-board propulsion. The main advantage of aero capture is reduced mass and use of a smaller, less-expensive launcher. This technique gets a vehicle to a destination quickly, hastening start-up of science operations.

         Aerocapture is part of a unique family of "aero assist" technologies being developed by NASA for science missions to any planetary body with an appreciable atmosphere. These destinations could include Mars, Venus and Saturn's moon Titan, along with the outer planets.

ANTIGRAVITY PROPULSION

Advanced Technology in Propulsion - VASIMR MODE

VASIMR MODE

               The variable- specific-impulse magneto plasma rocket (VASIMR) is high powered, electro thermal plasma

rocket, capable of modulating the exhaust at constant power. An electrode less design enables the rocket to operate at power densities much greater than those of more conventional magneto plasma or ion engines. VASIMR is intended to bridge the gap between high-thrust, low-specific impulse propulsion systems and low-thrust, high-specific impulse systems. Therefore it is capable of functioning in either mode placing the VASIMR far ahead of anything available today. This rocket utilizes hydrogen as its propellant which can be operated at relatively low cost.

            The VASIMR is expected to be commercially useful for boosting communication satellites and other Earth-orbiting spacecraft to higher orbits, retrieving and servicing spacecraft in high orbits around the Earth, and boosting high-payload robotic spacecraft on very fast missions to other planets. The greatest potential of the VASIMR is expected to lie in its ability to significantly reduce the trip times for human missions to Mars and beyond. This reduction in times is expected to enable long-term exploration of outer space by humans — something that conventional rocket designs now preclude.

            The VASIMR contains three major magnetic cells — the forward, central, and after cells. A plasma is injected into these cells, then heated, then expanded in a magnetic nozzle.  During operation of the VASIMR, a neutral gas (typically, hydrogen) is injected into the forward cell, where it is ionized. The resulting plasma is then heated further in the central cell which serves as an amplifier, to the desired temperature and density, by use of radio-frequency excitation and ion cyclotron resonance. Once heated, the plasma is magnetically and gas-dynamically exhausted by the aft cell to provide modulated thrust.