Design and application of solar sailing: A review on key technologies

Zhao, Pengyuan; Wu, Chenchen; LI, Yangmin

doi:10.1016/j.cja.2022.11.002

Cited by 33 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 151 publications

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“…Such a heliostationary condition is achieved only at a single point along the transfer trajectory, while in the neighboring of the COFT aphelion the spacecraft experiences a quasi-heliostationary condition as the magnitude of its inertial velocity is very small. In the case of solar sail-based mission [3][4][5], such a specific feature of a propelled trajectory has been highlighted by the authors [47] and by Zeng et al [48][49][50] in a non-Keplerian orbit [51,52] with multiple H-reversal points. In particular, an H-reversal point occurs when the magnitude of the spacecraft angular momentum vector is zero but, usually, it also indicates a point where the angular momentum vector of the osculating orbit reverses its direction.…”

Section: Numerical Simulations and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A plane change maneuver, i.e., a maneuver that changes the orbital inclination of a Keplerian orbit while keeping the semimajor axis and eccentricity (i.e., both its shape and size) unchanged [1], is usually considered to be one of the most demanding maneuvers in astrodynamics from the standpoint of velocity change and, therefore, propellant expenditure [2]. A possible solution to perform such an orbital maneuver is given by the use of a propellantless propulsion system, such as a (photonic) solar sail [3][4][5] or an Electric Solar Wind Sail (E-sail) [6], which exploit either the solar radiation pressure (solar sail case) or the solar wind momentum flux (E-sail case) to generate a propulsive acceleration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Circular Orbit Flip Trajectories Generated by E-Sail

Quarta,

Bassetto,

Mengali

2023

Applied Sciences

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An Electric Solar Wind Sail (E-sail) is a propellantless propulsion concept that extracts momentum from the high-speed solar wind stream to generate thrust. This paper investigates the performance of such a propulsion system in obtaining the transition from a prograde to a retrograde motion. The spacecraft is assumed to initially trace a circular heliocentric orbit of given radius. This particular trajectory, referred to as Circular Orbit Flip Trajectory (COFT), is analyzed in a two-dimensional mission scenario, by exploiting the capability of a medium-high performance E-sail to change the spacecraft angular momentum vector during its motion in the interplanetary space. More precisely, the paper describes a procedure to evaluate the E-sail optimal performance in a set of COFTs, by calculating their minimum flight times as a function of the sail reference propulsive acceleration. It is shown that a two-dimensional COFT can be generated by means of a simple steering law in which the E-sail nominal plane has a nearly fixed attitude with respect to an orbital reference system, for most of the time interval of the interplanetary transfer.

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Section: Numerical Simulations and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circular Orbit Flip Trajectories Generated by E-Sail

Quarta,

Bassetto,

Mengali

2023

Applied Sciences

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“…In a solar sail-based mission scenario, the time variation of the thrust vector components is typically calculated by minimizing the total flight time [23], that is, by studying the (rapid) transfer trajectory which maximizes the performance index J defined as…”

Section: Mathematical Preliminaries and Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar Sail Transfer Trajectory Design for Comet 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1 Rendezvous

Quarta,

Abu Salem,

Palaia

2023

Applied Sciences

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The goal of this paper is to analyze the optimal transfer towards the periodic comet 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1 of a solar sail-based spacecraft. This periodic and active comet is an interesting and still unexplored small body that has been regarded as an object of the Centaurs group. In this work, a classical (heliocentric) orbit-to-orbit transfer is studied from an optimal viewpoint, by finding the spacecraft trajectories that minimize the flight time for a given value of the solar sail characteristic acceleration, that is, the typical performance parameter of a photonic sail. In particular, the optimal Earth–comet transfer is studied both in a typical three-dimensional mission scenario and with a simplified two-dimensional approach, whose aim is to rapidly obtain an accurate estimation of the minimum flight time with a reduced computation cost. The numerical simulations illustrate the mission performance, in terms of the characteristics of the rapid transfer trajectory, as a function of the typical propulsive parameter and the solar sail thrust model.

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“…Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites with high stiffness and strength, and tailorable mechanical properties have been widely used in engineering applications. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Thin-walled bistable structures made of plain woven CFRP composites can maintain stable at both deployed and coiled states, yielding high storage efficiency, a simple deployment mechanism, and have great potential applications in deployable space structures. [7][8][9] However, obtaining mechanical properties of the plain woven fabrics in the thickness direction is extremely difficult.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental validation study on snap through and coiling up of deployable composite shells

Chang,

Zhao,

et al. 2023

Polymer Composites

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Bistable reeled composite shells (BRCS) have been widely used in deployable space structures due to advanced properties of light weight and large volume reduction. A finite element simulation and experimental validation to study the transition of BRCS between their two stable states are performed. In this article, multiscale representative volume element (RVE) modeling is used to compute the equivalent mechanical properties of carbon/epoxy plain woven fabrics that were utilized to construct the deployable composite laminates, followed by experimental verification. The deformation characteristics and strain energy distribution of the deployable composite shell (DCS) during snap through and coiling up are investigated using finite element analysis (FEA) and verified by strain‐gauge and digital image correlation (DIC) tests. The results show that the strain energy distribution in the snap through and coiling up of the carbon/epoxy plain woven BRCS with laminate stacking sequence of [+45/−45] is approximately symmetric. Additionally, an offset phenomena is observed during the coiling up of the BRCS in the finite element modeling. A parametric analysis is complemented to investigate effects of fiber angles on the deformation characteristics and strain energy distribution of the shell structures during snap through and coiling up.Highlights Shell deformation during snap through and coiling up was investigated. DIC test was performed to capture the shell deformation. Strain energy distribution of the deployable composite shell was discussed. Offset phenomena are observed during the coiling up.

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Design and application of solar sailing: A review on key technologies

Cited by 33 publications

References 151 publications

Circular Orbit Flip Trajectories Generated by E-Sail

Circular Orbit Flip Trajectories Generated by E-Sail

Solar Sail Transfer Trajectory Design for Comet 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1 Rendezvous

Experimental validation study on snap through and coiling up of deployable composite shells

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