Advanced Space Propulsion Systems

Antimatter to ion drives: NASA's plans for deep space propulsion Litchford recommended research to improve conventional systems, such as . In the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) funded a team.
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Advances are being made to improve thruster performance and reduce risk and costs for attitude control system, and entry, descent, and landing EDL systems. Specific improvements include the development of electronic regulation of pressurization systems for propellant tanks, lower-mass tanks, pump-fed thruster development, and variable-thrust bipropellant engine modeling, as well as deep-space-propulsion improvements in cryogenic propellant storage systems and components.

These thrusters produce micronewton thrust levels for solar-wind compensation and precision-attitude control. Additional requirements are for high-efficiency thrusters that enable 5- to year mission lifetimes that include significant maneuvering requirements.

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Continued development and flight qualification of this thruster is required for some potential future missions. Micronewton thruster cluster to be flown on ST-7 mission. Power source options for deep-space missions include solar cell arrays and radioisotope power systems RPS. Some deep space and planetary-surface missions may require advanced solar arrays capable of operating in extreme environments radiation, low temperatures, high temperatures, dust.

Using advanced materials and novel synthesis techniques, such high-efficiency solar cells and arrays are under development for use in future spacecraft applications. These advanced cells would increase power availability and reduce solar array size for a given power, and may also have applications for terrestrial energy production applications as well, if fabrication costs can be driven to sufficiently low levels. Some deep-space mission concepts require the ability to operate in high radiation environments.


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Advanced thermoelectric radioisotope generators are under development by NASA for future space missions. The capabilities of smaller RPS are being explored for future exploration missions. The development of small RPS can enable smaller landers at extreme latitudes or regions of low solar illumination, subsurface probes, and deep-space microsatellites. The energy storage systems presently being used in space science missions include both primary and rechargeable batteries.


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Fuel cells are also being used in some human space missions. Some planetary surface missions would require primary batteries that can operate in extreme environments high temperatures, low temperatures, and high radiation. Some missions could require operational capability in extreme environments low temperature, high temperature, and high radiation. Fuel cells, such as those used on the Space Shuttle, can be particularly attractive for human space science missions.

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JPL is working on the development of such advanced fuel cells. Skip to main content.

Advanced Propulsion and Power

In some instances, development of technologies within this TA will result in mission- enabling breakthroughs that will revolutionize space exploration. There is no single propulsion technology that will benefit all missions or mission types. The requirements for in-space propulsion vary widely due according to their intended application. The described technologies should support everything from small satellites and robotic deep space exploration to space stations and human missions to Mars applications. The technology areas are divided into four basic groups: Additionally, there may be credible meritorious in-space propulsion concepts not foreseen or reviewed at the time of publication, and which may be shown to be beneficial to future mission applications.

Furthermore, the term "mission pull" defines a technology or a performance characteristic necessary to meet a planned NASA mission requirement. Any other relationship between a technology and a mission an alternate propulsion system, for example is categorized as "technology push. On the other hand, a space validation would serve as a qualification flight for future mission implementation. A successful validation flight would not require any additional space testing of a particular technology before it can be adopted for a science or exploration mission. For both human and robotic exploration, traversing the solar system is a struggle against time and distance.

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Rapid inner solar system missions with flexible launch dates are difficult, requiring propulsion systems that are beyond today's current state of the art. The logistics, and therefore the total system mass required to support sustained human exploration beyond Earth to destinations such as the Moon, Mars or Near Earth Objects, are daunting unless more efficient in-space propulsion technologies are developed and fielded.

The In-Space Program is working to develop next generation electric propulsion technologies, including Ion and Hall thrusters. Solar Sails, which are a form of propellantless propulsion, are also being developed. Solar sails rely on the naturally occurring sunlight for the propulsion energy.

Advanced Propulsion and Power | Science and Technology

Other propulsion technologies being developed include advanced chemical propulsion and aerocapture. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Alcubierre drive Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program Interplanetary Transport Network Interplanetary travel List of aerospace engineering topics List of rockets Magnetic sail Orbital maneuver Orbital mechanics Plasma propulsion engine Pulse detonation engine Rocket Rocket engine nozzles Satellite Solar sail Space travel using constant acceleration Specific impulse Stochastic electrodynamics Tsiolkovsky rocket equation.

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