Electrostatic thrusters for microgravity propulsion in a pressurized environment

Motivated by long-term human exploration missions which could benefit from robotic assistants, a prototype thruster based on an Ion-Drag Pump was developed. This thruster utilizes no consumable propellant. Its operated by ionizing the air it floats in. Such an engine only requires recharging of its...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Saenz-Otero, Alvar, Pina, Alex, Wellman, Gregory, Lozano, Paulo, Garriott, Richard
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Aircraft
Electrostatics
Engines
Gravity
Humans
Needles
Propulsion
Prototypes
Robots
Testing
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:Motivated by long-term human exploration missions which could benefit from robotic assistants, a prototype thruster based on an Ion-Drag Pump was developed. This thruster utilizes no consumable propellant. Its operated by ionizing the air it floats in. Such an engine only requires recharging of its electrical power in order to propel itself in a pressurized microgravity environment. The prototypes were modeled analytically in 1D, tested using a micro-scale, and then validated in 3D aboard the ZERO-G reduced gravity aircraft. The results demonstrated that an engine with an inlet area of 5cm 2 and a needle density of 1.0 needles/cm 2 can provide a thrust of at least 3mN with electrical inputs of 10kV and less than 100uA. The successful demonstration is a proof of concept and opens the possibility for future engines that could provide the desired thrust to support astronauts.
ISSN:1095-323X
2996-2358
DOI:10.1109/AERO.2010.5446772