Elements of a mars transportation system

Nock, K. T.; Friedlander, A. L.

doi:10.1016/0094-5765(87)90189-5

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…A specific MSR mission was considered to illustrate the approach at this time. It is easy to consider more involved Mars missions, such as those described by Nock and Friedlander, 16 as the mission component, instead of the very simple mission mechanics we have considered here to develop the FOM concept. Some of the unconventional propellant combinations were compared with the all-Earth-transported LOX/H 2 system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Figure-of-merit approach to extraterrestrial resource utilization

Ramohalli

Kirsch

Preiss

1992

Journal of Propulsion and Power

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Figure-of-merit approach to extraterrestrial resource utilization

Ramohalli

Kirsch

Preiss

1992

Journal of Propulsion and Power

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“…The sun's gravitational acceleration g s = 0.006AR 2 , and the maximum magsail spacecraft acceleration D/M = 0.015/ (lVR 5 4/3 ) 9 where W, the weight ratio, equals the mass of the total magsail spacecraft (including payload) divided by the mass of the active magsail cable. The apparent fraction a. of the sun's gravity operating on the spacecraft with its magsail operating at full current is then given by…”

Section: Magsail Orbits Magsail Orbits Without Liftmentioning

confidence: 99%

Magnetic sails and interplanetary travel

Zubrin¹,

Andrews

1991

Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets

151

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A new concept, the magnetic sail, or "magsail," which propels spacecraft by using the magnetic field generated by a loop of superconducting cable to deflect interplanetary or interstellar plasma winds, is proposed. The performance of such a device is evaluated using both a plasma particle model and a fluid model, and the results of a series of investigations are presented. It is found that a magsail sailing on the solar wind at a radius of one astronautical unit can attain accelerations on the order of 0.01 m/s 2 , much greater than that available from a conventional solar lightsail, and also greater than the acceleration due to the sun's gravitational attraction. A net tangential force, or "lift," can also be generated. Lift-to-drag ratios of about 0.3 appear attainable. Equations are derived whereby orbital transfers using magsail propulsion can be calculated analytically. It is found that a magsail can transfer payloads to and from any two circular orbits in the solar system in a flight time slightly larger than the Hohmann ballistic transfer time. The magsail can accomplish these missions at any time, unrestricted by the usual ballistic transfer launch window. The necessary magsail/payload mass ratios are less than 0.15. NomenclatureA = cross-sectional area of magsail wire, m 2 a = semimajor axis of magsail orbit, a.u. B m = magnetic field at the magsail center, T B 0 = ambient interplanetary magnetic field, T C = characteristic radius of magsail action, m D = drag force exerted by plasma wind on magsail, N d = diameter of magsail wire E = canonical energy of magsail orbit e = eccentricity of magsail orbit h -canonical angular momentum of magsail orbit / = magsail loop current, A / = magsail loop current density, A/m 2 L -lift force exerted by plasma wind on magsail, N M = mass of magsail, kg P = Semilatus rectum of the magsail orbit, a.u. P m -magnetic pressure of the magsail field, Pa P mb = magnetic pressure at the magnetosphere boundary, Pa R c -collection radius of the magsail, m R m = radius of the magsail loop, m R s = radius of spacecraft from sun, a.u. RQ = initial diplacement of proton off magsail axis, m t -time of flight of magsail orbit, l/2v yr V = velocity of the plasma wind, m/s V x = velocity of proton parallel to magsail loop axis, m/s V y = velocity of proton perpendicular to magsail loop axis, m/s V sc -velocity of magsail spacecraft, 2?r a.u./yr W = magsail spacecraft weight ratio a.= fraction of sun's gravitational attraction felt by magsail spacecraft = polar angle off dipole axis 0 .= true anomaly of magsail spacecraft within its orbit p = density of the plasma wind, kg/m 3 p m = magsail loop mass density, kg/m 3 0 = angle between plasma freestream and the normal to the magnetospheric boundary

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“…EVERAL circulating orbits have been proposed over the years to enable periodic human missions between Earth and Mars. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] These cycler concepts can be traced back as far back as the late 1960s. A particular cycler, called the Aldrin cycler, is the focus of this paper.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Low-Thrust Version of the Aldrin Cycler

Chen

McConaghy

Okutsu

et al. 2002

AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference and Exhibit

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In this paper we seek a low-thrust version of a cycler orbit between Earth and Mars known as the Aldrin cycler. The principal goal is to design trajectories that have low flyby V at both planets while minimizing the total propellant cost. Our research is aided by several powerful software tools, including a recently developed low-thrust optimizer. With these tools, we are able to produce several promising low-thrust versions of Aldrin cyclers. Our analysis shows that such cyclers can significantly reduce the total propellant cost.

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Elements of a mars transportation system

Cited by 12 publications

References 5 publications

Figure-of-merit approach to extraterrestrial resource utilization

Figure-of-merit approach to extraterrestrial resource utilization

Magnetic sails and interplanetary travel

A Low-Thrust Version of the Aldrin Cycler

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