Spherical collectors versus bare tethers for drag, thrust, and power generation

Deorbit, power generation, and thrusting performances of a bare thin-tape tether and an insulated tether with a spherical electron collector are compared for typical conditions in low-Earth orbit and common values of length L = 4−20 km and cross-sectional area of the tether A = 1−5 mm2. The relative performance of moderately large spheres, as compared with bare tapes, improves but still lags as one moves from deorbiting to power generation and to thrusting: Maximum drag in deorbiting requires maximum current and, thus, fully reflects on anodic collection capability, whereas extracting power at a load or using a supply to push current against the motional field requires reduced currents. The relative performance also improves as one moves to smaller A, which makes the sphere approach the limiting short-circuit current, and at greater L, with the higher bias only affecting moderately the already large bare-tape current. For a 4-m-diameter sphere, relative performances range from 0.09 sphere-to-bare tether drag ratio for L = 4 km and A = 5 mm2 to 0.82 thrust–efficiency ratio for L = 20 km and A = 1 mm2. Extremely large spheres collecting the short-circuit current at zero bias at daytime (diameters being about 14 m for A = 1 mm2 and 31 m for A = 5 mm2) barely outperform the bare tape for L = 4 km and are still outperformed by the bare tape for L = 20 km in both deorbiting and power generation; these large spheres perform like the bare tape in thrusting. In no case was sphere or sphere-related hardware taken into account in evaluating system mass, which would have reduced the sphere performances even further.

Plasma kinetics issues in an ESA study for a plasma laboratory in space

A study supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), in the context of its General Studies Programme, performed an investigation of the possible use of space for studies in pure and applied plasma physics, in areas not traditionally covered by ‘space plasma physics’. A set of experiments have been identified that can potentially provide access to new phenomena and to allow advances in several fields of plasma science. These experiments concern phenomena on a spatial scale (101–104 m) intermediate between what is achievable on the ground and the usual solar system plasma observations. Detailed feasibility studies have been performed for three experiments: active magnetic experiments, largescale discharges and long tether–plasma interactions. The perspectives opened by these experiments are discussed for magnetic reconnection, instabilities, MHD turbulence, atomic excited states kinetics, weakly ionized plasmas,plasma diagnostics, artificial auroras and atmospheric studies. The discussion is also supported by results of numerical simulations and estimates.

Bare-tether sheath and current: comparison of asymptotic theory and kinetic simulations in stationary plasma

Analytical expressions for current to a cylindrical Langmuir probe at rest in unmagnetized plasma are compared with results from both steady-state Vlasov and particle-in-cell simulations. Probe bias potentials that are much greater than plasma temperature (assumed equal for ions and electrons), as of interest for bare conductive tethers, are considered. At a very high bias, both the electric potential and the attracted-species density exhibit complex radial profiles; in particular, the density exhibits a minimum well within the plasma sheath and a maximum closer to the probe. Excellent agreement is found between analytical and numerical results for values of the probe radiusR close to the maximum radius Rmax for orbital-motion-limited (OML) collection at a particular bias in the following number of profile features: the values and positions of density minimum and maximum, position of sheath boundary, and value of a radius characterizing the no-space-charge behavior of a potential near the high-bias probe. Good agreement between the theory and simulations is also found for parametric laws jointly covering the following three characteristic R ranges: sheath radius versus probe radius and bias for Rmax; density minimum versus probe bias for Rmax; and (weakly bias-dependent) current drop below the OML value versus the probe radius for R > Rmax.

Electrodynamic Tether at Jupiter I: Capture operation and constraints

Tethered spacecraft missions to the Jovian system suit the use of electrodynamic tethers because: 1) magnetic stresses are 100 times greater than at the Earth; 2) the stationary orbit is one-third the relative distance for Earth; and 3) moon Io is a nearby giant plasma source. The (bare) tether is a reinforced aluminum foil with tens of kilometer length L and a fraction of millimeter thickness h, which collects electrons as an efficient Langmuir probe and can tap Jupiter’s rotational energy for both propulsion and power. In this paper, the critical capture operation is explicitly formulated in terms of orbit geometry and established magnetic and thermal plasma models. The design parameters L and h and capture perijove radius rp face opposite criteria independent of tape width. Efficient capture requires a low rp and a high L 3/2/h ratio. However, combined bounds on tether bowing and tether tensile stress, arising from a spin made necessary by the low Jovian gravity gradient, require a high rp and a low L 5/2/h ratio. Bounds on tether temperature again require a high rp and a low L 3/8/(tether emissivity)1/4 ratio. Optimal design values are discussed.

Electrodynamic tether at Jupiter II:Fast moon tour after capture

An electrodynamic bare-tether mission to Jupiter,following the capture of a spacecraft (SC) into an equatorial highly elliptical orbit with perijove at about 1.3 times the Jovian radius, is discussed. Repeated applications of the propellantless Lorentz drag on a spinning tether, at the perijove vicinity, can progressively lower the apojove at constant perijove, for a tour of Galilean moons. Electrical energy is generated and stored as the SC moves from an orbit at 1 : 1 resonance with a moon, down to resonance with the next moon; switching tether current off, stored power is then used as the SC makes a number of flybys of each moon. Radiation dose is calculated throughout the mission,during capture, flybys and moves between moons. The tour mission is limited by both power needs and accumulated dose. The three-stage apojove lowering down to Ganymede, Io, and Europa resonances would total less than 14 weeks, while 4 Ganymede, 20 Europa, and 16 Io flybys would add up to 18 weeks, with the entire mission taking just over seven months and the accumulated radiation dose keeping under 3 Mrad (Si) at 10-mm Al shield thickness.

A proposed two-stage two-tether scientific mission at Jupiter

A two-stage mission to place a spacecraft (SC) below the Jovian radiation belts, using a spinning bare tether with plasma contactors at both ends to provide propulsion and power,is proposed. Capture by Lorentz drag on the tether, at the periapsis of a barely hyperbolic equatorial orbit, is followed by a sequence of orbits at near-constant periapsis, drag finally bringing the SC down to a circular orbit below the halo ring. Although increasing both tether heating and bowing, retrograde motion can substantially reduce accumulated dose as compared with prograde motion, at equal tether-to-SC mass ratio. In the second stage,the tether is cut to a segment one order of magnitude smaller, with a single plasma contactor, making the SC to slowly spiral inward over severalmonths while generating large onboard power, which would allow multiple scientific applications, including in situ study of Jovian grains, auroral sounding of upper atmosphere, and space- and time-resolved observations of surface and subsurface.

Low work-function coating for an entirely propellantless bare electrodynamic tether

We present the possibility of a low work-function material, calcium aluminate electride, being used for a coating on a bare electrodynamic tether system. Analyses suggest that the coating would eliminate the need for an active cathodic device like a hollow cathode and, consequently, eliminate the need for an expellant to the hollow cathode, thus resulting in an electrodynamic tether system that requires no consumables. Applications include on-orbit power generation and deorbiting debris from low Earth orbit in a simple and trouble-free manner.

Sounding rocket experiment of bare electrodynamic tether system

An overview of asounding rocket S-520-25th, project on space tether technology experiment is presented.The project is prepared by an international research group consisting of Japanese,European,American,andAustralianresearchers.The sounding rocket will be assembled by the ISAS/JAXA and will be launched in the summer of 2009.

On the charged particle drag acting on LAGEOS

A recent study by the authors points to Charged Particle Drag (CPD) as a contributor to revisit in the LAGEOS non-gravitational perturbations problem. Such perturbations must account for dynamical contributions in the order of pms−2 . The simulated effect takes into account: (i) spatial and temporal variations of the plasmatic parameters (temperature and concentration of the species), (ii) spacecraft potential variations caused by both the eclipse passages and variations in the parameters mentioned above, and (iii) solar and geomagnetic conditions. Furthermore, recent theoretical improvements concerning scattering drag overcome previous limitations allowing for a complete formulation of this effect. For each satellite the lifetime CPD instantaneous acceleration is computed. The plasmatic parameters have been obtained fromthe Sheffield Coupled Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Plasmasphere (SCTIP) semi-empirical model (up to the polar region), as well as alytical/empirical approximations based on spacecraft measurements for the auroral and polar regions. Results show that maximum amplitudes for LAGEOSI are larger than those for LAGEOS-II: −85 pms−2 and −70 pms−2 respectively. This is due to the almost (magnetically) polar orbit configuration of the first, producing larger combinations of plasmatic parameter values. High solar activity has a huge impact in the resulting LAGEOS accelerations: it yields a perfect modulation of the resulting acceleration with maximum amplitudes up to a factor of 10 when comparing low and high activity periods. On the other hand, the impact of the geomagnetic activity results into a reduction of the effect itself, probably due to a decrease in the hydrogen concentration for high energy input periods. The acceleration results will be used in a refined orbit computation in a subsequent investigation.

Coherent excitation of nonlinear oscillators

Coherently driven, dissipative nonlinear oscillators,(driving kept permanently in phase with the oscillators response) are proposed as systems with interesting dynamics. Results for simple, preliminary examples, which do not show chaotic behavior, are briefly discussed.