Design of an intake and a thruster for an atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system

Abstract

Challenging space missions include those at very low altitudes, where the atmosphere is the source of aerodynamic drag on the spacecraft, that finally defines the mission's lifetime, unless a way to compensate for it is provided. This environment is named Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) and it is defined for h < 450 km. In addition to the spacecraft's aerodynamic design, to extend the lifetime of such missions, an efficient propulsion system is required.One solution is Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP), in which the propulsion system collects the atmospheric particles to be used as propellant for an electric thruster. The system could remove the requirement of carrying propellant on-board, and could also be applied to any planetary body with atmosphere, enabling new missions at low altitude ranges for longer missions' duration. One of the objectives of the H2020 DISCOVERER project, is the development of an intake and an electrode-less plasma thruster for an ABEP system.This article describes the characteristics of intake design and the respective final designs based on simulations, providing collection efficiencies up to 94%. Furthermore, the radio frequency (RF) Helicon-based plasma thruster (IPT) is hereby presented as well, while its performances are being evaluated, the

Numerical simulation of rarefied supersonic flows using a fourth-order maximum-entropy moment method with interpolative closure

“…Considering the plot in moment space, this rarefaction fan causes a non-zero heat flux, q ⋆ , and brings the fourth-order dimensionless moment, r ⋆ , to sub-Maxwellian values (the equilibrium value is r ⋆ = 3). This rarefaction wave is followed by a plateau (2-3) and by a discontinuity (3)(4). Along this discontinuity, the solution appears to approach equilibrium again, but instead of reaching it, equilibrium is passed from the top, and the Junk line is crossed.…”

“…The development of mathematical and numerical models for simulating rarefied supersonic flows is of relevance to a variety of aerospace problems. These include the study of the atmospheric entry of spacecrafts and meteors, [1][2][3] the design of air-breathing electric propulsion systems, 4 and low-density aerodynamic facilities. 5 The characteristic feature of such flows is a relatively slow collisional relaxation time, often slower or comparable to the advection time scales.…”

Design and optimization of ion propulsion drone

“…An air-breathing ion plasma thruster for lower Earth orbit maneuverability was designed by F. Romano et al (6). The objective of the research was to replace the onboard propellant storage system with atmospheric nitrogen as a propellant.…”

Prediction of the Propulsive Performance of an Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion System on Cathode-Less Plasma Thruster

“…In this analysis, a spacecraft similar to GOCE [44]) was considered. The spacecraft was equipped with an intake [45] responsible for collecting the atmospheric particles and funnelling them inside the thruster's discharge chamber (see Figure 1).…”