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Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites. In-space propulsion exclusively deals with propulsion systems used in the vacuum of space and should not be confused with space launch or atmospheric entry.
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous – Shoemaker, renamed after its 1996 launch in honor of planetary scientist Eugene Shoemaker, was a robotic space probe designed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for NASA to study the near-Earth asteroid Eros from close orbit over a period of a year. It was the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid and land on it successfully. In February 2000, the mission closed in on the asteroid and orbited it. On February 12, 2001, Shoemaker touched down on the asteroid and was terminated just over two weeks later.
An ion thruster, ion drive, or ion engine is a form of electric propulsion used for spacecraft propulsion. An ion thruster creates a cloud of positive ions from a neutral gas by ionizing it to extract some electrons from its atoms. The ions are then accelerated using electricity to create thrust. Ion thrusters are categorized as either electrostatic or electromagnetic.
A magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster (MPDT) is a form of electrically powered spacecraft propulsion which uses the Lorentz force to generate thrust. It is sometimes referred to as Lorentz Force Accelerator (LFA) or MPD arcjet.
Beam-powered propulsion, also known as directed energy propulsion, is a class of aircraft or spacecraft propulsion that uses energy beamed to the spacecraft from a remote power plant to provide energy. The beam is typically either a microwave or a laser beam, and it is either pulsed or continuous. A continuous beam lends itself to thermal rockets, photonic thrusters, and light sails. In contrast, a pulsed beam lends itself to ablative thrusters and pulse detonation engines.
BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. The mission comprises two satellites launched together: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mio. The mission will perform a comprehensive study of Mercury, including characterization of its magnetic field, magnetosphere, and both interior and surface structure. It was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket on 20 October 2018 at 01:45 UTC, with an arrival at Mercury planned for on 5 December 2025, after a flyby of Earth, two flybys of Venus, and six flybys of Mercury. The mission was approved in November 2009, after years in proposal and planning as part of the European Space Agency's Horizon 2000+ programme; it is the last mission of the programme to be launched.
Solar electric propulsion (SEP) refers to the combination of solar cells and electric thrusters to propel a spacecraft through outer space. This technology has been exploited in a variety of spacecraft designs by the European Space Agency (ESA), the JAXA, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA. SEP has a significantly higher specific impulse than chemical rocket propulsion, thus requiring less propellant mass to be launched with a spacecraft. The technology has been evaluated for missions to Mars.
Spacecraft electric propulsion is a type of spacecraft propulsion technique that uses electrostatic or electromagnetic fields to accelerate mass to high speed and thus generating thrust to modify the velocity of a spacecraft in orbit. The propulsion system is controlled by power electronics.
TAU was a proposed uncrewed interstellar probe that would go to a distance of one thousand astronomical units from the Earth and Sun by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1987 using tested technology. One scientific purpose would be to measure the distance to other stars via stellar parallax. Studies continued into 1990, working with a launch in the 2005–2010 timeframe.
(153591) 2001 SN263 is a carbonaceous trinary asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and former potentially hazardous asteroid of the Amor group, approximately 2.6 kilometers (1.6 miles) in diameter. It was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research project at Lincoln Lab's Experimental Test Site in Socorro, New Mexico, on 20 September 2001. The two synchronous minor-planet moons measure approximately 770 and 430 meters and have an orbital period of 16.46 and 150 hours, respectively.
A Propulsive Fluid Accumulator is an artificial Earth satellite which collects and stores oxygen and other atmospheric gases for in-situ refuelling of high-thrust rockets. This eliminates the need to lift oxidizer to orbit and therefore brings significant cost benefits. A major portion of the total world payload sent into low Earth orbit each year is either liquid oxygen or water.
The Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), also known as the Asteroid Retrieval and Utilization (ARU) mission and the Asteroid Initiative, was a space mission proposed by NASA in 2013; the mission was later cancelled. The Asteroid Retrieval Robotic Mission (ARRM) spacecraft would rendezvous with a large near-Earth asteroid and use robotic arms with anchoring grippers to retrieve a 4-meter boulder from the asteroid.
Lunar Flashlight was a low-cost CubeSat lunar orbiter mission to explore, locate, and estimate size and composition of water ice deposits on the Moon for future exploitation by robots or humans.
Psyche is a NASA Discovery Program space mission launched on October 13, 2023 to explore the origin of planetary cores by orbiting and studying the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche beginning in 2029. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages the project.
CubeSat for Solar Particles (CuSP) was a low-cost 6U CubeSat to orbit the Sun to study the dynamic particles and magnetic fields. The principal investigator for CuSP is Mihir Desai, at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas. It was launched on the maiden flight of the Space Launch System (SLS), as a secondary payload of the Artemis 1 mission on 16 November 2022.
Team Miles was a 6U CubeSat that was to demonstrate navigation in deep space using innovative plasma thrusters. It was also to test a software-defined radio operating in the S-band for communications from about 4 million kilometers from Earth. Team Miles was one of ten CubeSats launched with the Artemis 1 mission into a heliocentric orbit in cislunar space on the maiden flight of the Space Launch System (SLS), that took place on 16 November 2022. Team Miles was deployed but contact was not established with the spacecraft.
EQUULEUS is a nanosatellite of the 6U CubeSat format that will measure the distribution of plasma that surrounds the Earth (plasmasphere) to help scientists understand the radiation environment in that region. It will also demonstrate low-thrust trajectory control techniques, such as multiple lunar flybys, within the Earth-Moon region using water steam as propellant. The spacecraft was designed and developed jointly by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the University of Tokyo.
Castalia is a proposed mission concept for a robotic spacecraft to explore the main-belt comet 7968 Elst–Pizarro and make the first in situ measurements of water in the asteroid belt, and thus, help solve the mystery of the origin of Earth's water. The lead is Colin Snodgrass, from The Open University in UK.
NASA's Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) Project is a series of tech demonstrations of technologies aboard a series of nanosatellites known as CubeSats, providing significant enhancements to the performance of these versatile spacecraft. Each of the five planned PTD missions consist of a 6-unit (6U) CubeSat with expandable solar arrays.
The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), previously known as the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle propulsion system, is a planned solar electric ion propulsion module being developed by Maxar Technologies for NASA. It is one of the major components of the Lunar Gateway. The PPE will allow access to the entire lunar surface and a wide range of lunar orbits and double as a space tug for visiting craft.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Reviewed plan of the ALR, the laser rangefinder for the ASTER deep space mission to the triple asteroid 2001-SN263. A. G. V. de Brum, F. C. da Cruz. XVIII Brazilian Colloquium on Orbital Dynamics (2016). Journal of Physics: Conf. Series 911 (2017) doi : 10.1088/1742-6596/911/1/012016
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Ferreira, José Leonardo; Martins, Alexandre A.; Miranda, Rodrigo Andres; O. C., Helbert Jr.; Silva, Alvaro Q. D. R.; Ferreira, Ivan Soares; Sukhanov, Alexander; Winter, Othon Cabo (October 2017). Development of a Solar Electric Propulsion System for the First Brazilian Deep Space Mission (PDF). 35th International Electric Propulsion Conference. Georgia Institute of Technology. IEPC-2017-166. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 August 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Preliminary Development Plan of the ALR, the Laser Rangefinder for the ASTER Deep Space Mission to the 2001 SN263 Asteroid (Archived). (PDF) Antonio Gil Vicente de Brum. 2011. doi : 10.5028/jatm.2011.03033611
- ↑ de Brum, Antonio G. V.; Hussmann, Hauke; Wickhusen, Kai; Stark, Alexander (2021-01-01). "Encounter trajectories for deep space mission ASTER to the triple near Earth asteroid 2001-SN263. The laser altimeter (ALR) point of view". Advances in Space Research. 67 (1): 648–661. Bibcode:2021AdSpR..67..648D. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2020.10.042. ISSN 0273-1177.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ASTER: A Brazilian Mission to an Asteroid. (PDF) O. C. Winter, E. E. N. Macau, H. de Campos Velho, V. Carruba1, and the Scientific and Engineering Payload ASTER Team.
- 1 2 3 4 5 The ASTER Mission: Exploring for the First Time a Triple System Asteroid. (PDF) Elbert E.N. Macau, Othon Winter, Haroldo Fraga de Campos Velho. January 2011
- ↑ ASTER Mission: First Brazilian Deep Space Mission, planned to be launched in 2014. The Aster Project: Flight to a Near Earth Asteroid. A. A. Sukhanov, H. F. DE C. Velho, E. E. Macau, O. C. Winter. Cosmic Research, 2010, Vol. 48, No. 5, pp. 443–450
- ↑ ASTER Mission: Stability regions around the triple asteroid 2001 SN263. (PDF) O. C. Winter, R. A. N. Araujo, A. F. B. A. Prado, A. Sukhanov. 2011
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