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Electric Solar Wind Sail Kinetic Energy Impactor for Asteroid Deflection Missions

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Abstract

An electric solar wind sail uses the natural solar wind stream to produce low but continuous thrust by interacting with a number of long thin charged tethers. It allows a spacecraft to generate a thrust without consuming any reaction mass. The aim of this paper is to investigate the use of a spacecraft with such a propulsion system to deflect an asteroid with a high relative velocity away from an Earth collision trajectory. To this end, we formulate a simulation model for the electric solar wind sail. By summing thrust vectors exerted on each tether, a dynamic model which gives the relation between the thrust and sail attitude is proposed. Orbital maneuvering by fixing the sail’s attitude and changing tether voltage is considered. A detailed study of the deflection of fictional asteroids, which are assumed to be identified 15 years before Earth impact, is also presented. Assuming a spacecraft characteristic acceleration of 0.5 mm/s 2, and a projectile mass of 1,000 kg, we show that the trajectory of asteroids with one million tons can be changed enough to avoid a collision with the Earth. Finally, the effectiveness of using this method of propulsion in an asteroid deflection mission is evaluated in comparison with using flat photonic solar sails.

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Notes

  1. http://www.nasa.gov/content/heliopause-electrostatic-rapid-transit-system-herts/#.VTsZdpOo1c4

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Acknowledgements

The present study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 15J08268.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Creative Research and Development of Humanosphere, Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, 611-0011, Gokasho, Uji-city, Kyoto, Japan

    Kouhei Yamaguchi & Hiroshi Yamakawa

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  1. Kouhei Yamaguchi
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  2. Hiroshi Yamakawa
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Correspondence to Kouhei Yamaguchi.

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Yamaguchi, K., Yamakawa, H. Electric Solar Wind Sail Kinetic Energy Impactor for Asteroid Deflection Missions. J of Astronaut Sci 63, 1–22 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40295-015-0081-x

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