300-kW Solar Electric Propulsion System Configuration for Human Exploration of Near-Earth Asteroids

Author(s):  
John Brophy ◽  
Robert Gershman ◽  
Nathan Strange ◽  
Damon Landau ◽  
Raymond Merrill ◽  
...  

UAVs are growing their importance in both civil and military applications. The endurance of UAVs are related to their on board fuel carrying capacity which is limited by the weight class of aircraft. There is a need for long endurance UAVs for persistent Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance(ISTAR) missions. One of the solutions to overcome the endurance limitations for usage of UAV is the renewable energy. Among all renewable energy, solar energy is found more economical. Electrical powered aircraft/(UAV) propulsion system uses electrical energy to change the velocity of UAV. Electric propulsion system is now mature and widely used technology on spacecraft. In this work, UAV with solar cells on the surface of the wings as well as on board energy storage is discussed. This paper quantifies the requirement for perpetual endurance in solar-powered flight.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Renato Huaura Solórzano ◽  
Antonio Fernando Bertachini de Almeida Prado ◽  
Alexander Alexandrovich Sukhanov

Exploration of the outer planets has experienced new interest with the launch of the Cassini and the New Horizons Missions. At the present time, new technologies are under study for the better use of electric propulsion system in deep space missions. In the present paper, the method of the transporting trajectory is used to study this problem. This approximated method for the flight optimization with power-limited low thrust is based on the linearization of the motion of a spacecraft near a keplerian orbit that is close to the transfer trajectory. With the goal of maximizing the mass to be delivered in Saturn, several transfers were studied using nuclear, radioisotopic and solar electric propulsion systems.


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