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With the increased interest for interstellar exploration after the discovery of exoplanets and the proposal by Breakthrough Starshot, this paper investigates the optimisation of photon-sail trajectories in Alpha Centauri. The prime objective is to find the optimal steering strategy for a photonic sail to get captured around one of the stars after a minimum-time transfer from Earth. By extending the idea of the Breakthrough Starshot project with a deceleration phase upon arrival, the mission’s scientific yield will be increased. As a secondary objective, transfer trajectories between the stars and orbit-raising manoeuvres to explore the habitable zones of the stars are investigated. All trajectories are optimised for minimum time of flight using the trajectory optimisation software InTrance. Depending on the sail technology, interstellar travel times of 77.6-18,790 years can be achieved, which presents an average improvement of 30% with respect to previous work. Still, significant technological development is required to reach and be captured in the Alpha-Centauri system in less than a century. Therefore, a fly-through mission arguably remains the only option for a first exploratory mission to Alpha Centauri, but the enticing results obtained in this work provide perspective for future long-residence missions to our closest neighbouring star system.
An Interstellar – Heliopause mission using a combination of solar/radioisotope electric propulsion
(2011)
There is common agreement within the scientific community that in order to understand our local galactic environment it will be necessary to send a spacecraft into the region beyond the solar wind termination shock. Considering distances of 200 AU for a new mission, one needs a spacecraft travelling at a speed of close to 10 AU/yr in order to keep the mission duration in the range of less than 25 yrs, a transfer time postulated by ESA.Two propulsion options for the mission have been proposed and discussed so far: the solar sail propulsion and the ballistic/radioisotope electric propulsion. As a further alternative, we here investigate a combination of solar-electric propulsion and radioisotope-electric propulsion. The solar-electric propulsion stage consists of six 22 cm diameter “RIT-22”ion thrusters working with a high specific impulse of 7377 s corresponding to a positive grid voltage of 5 kV. Solar power of 53 kW BOM is provided by a light-weight solar array. The REP-stage consists of four space-proven 10 cm diameter “RIT-10” ion thrusters that will be operating one after the other for 9 yrs in total. Four advanced radioisotope generators provide 648 W at BOM. The scientific instrument package is oriented at earlier studies. For its mass and electric power requirement 35 kg and 35 W are assessed, respectively. Optimized trajectory calculations, treated in a separate contribution, are based on our “InTrance” method.The program yields a burn out of the REP stage in a distance of 79.6 AU for a usage of 154 kg of Xe propellant. With a C3 = 45,1 (km/s)2 a heliocentric probe velocity of 10 AU/yr is reached at this distance, provided a close Jupiter gravity assist adds a velocity increment of 2.7 AU/yr. A transfer time of 23.8 yrs results for this scenario requiring about 450 kg Xe for the SEP stage, jettisoned at 3 AU. We interpret the SEP/REP propulsion as a competing alternative to solar sail and ballistic/REP propulsion. Omiting a Jupiter fly-by even allows more launch flexibility, leaving the mission duration in the range of the ESA specification.
Physical interaction with small solar system bodies (SSSB) is key for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The design of mining missions requires good understanding of SSSB properties, including composition, surface and interior structure, and thermal environment. But as the saying goes "If you've seen one asteroid, you've seen one Asteroid": Although some patterns may begin to appear, a stable and reliable scheme of SSSB classification still has to be evolved. Identified commonalities would enable generic ISRU technology and spacecraft design approaches with a high degree of re-use. Strategic approaches require much broader in-depth characterization of the SSSB populations of interest to the ISRU community. The DLR-ESTEC GOSSAMER Roadmap Science Working Groups identified target-flexible Multiple Near-Earth asteroid (NEA) Rendezvous (MNR) as one of the missions only feasible with solar sail propulsion, showed the ability to access any inclination and a wide range of heliocentric distances as well as continuous operation close to Earth's orbit where low delta-v objects reside.
Solar sails are propelled in space by reflecting solar photons off large mirroring surfaces, thereby transforming the momentum of the photons into a propulsive force. This innovative concept for low-thrust space propulsion works without any propellant and thus provides a wide range of opportunities for highenergy low-cost missions. Offering an efficient way of propulsion, solar sailcraft could close a gap in transportation options for highly demanding exploration missions within our solar system and even beyond. On December 17th, 1999, a significant step was made towards the realization of this technology: a lightweight solar sail structure with an area of 20 m × 20 m was successfully deployed on ground in a large facility at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) at Cologne. The deployment from a package of 60 cm × 60 cm × 65 cm with a total mass of less than 35 kg was achieved using four extremely light-weight carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) booms with a specific mass of 100 g/m. The paper briefly reviews the basic principles of solar sails as well as the technical concept and its realization in the ground demonstration experiment, performed in close cooperation between DLR and ESA. Next possible steps are outlined. They could comprise the in-orbit demonstration of the sail deployment on the upper stage of a low-cost rocket and the verification of the propulsion concept by an autonomous and free flying solar sail in the frame of a scientific mission. It is expected that the present design could be extended to sail sizes of about (40 m)2 up to even (70 m)2 without significant mass penalty. With these areas, the maximum achievable thrust at 1 AU would range between 10 and 40 mN – comparable to some electric thrusters. Such prototype sails with a mass between 50 and 150 kg plus a micro-spacecraft of 50 to 250 kg would have a maximum acceleration in the order of 0.1 mm/s2 at 1 AU, corresponding to a maximum ∆V-capability of about 3 km/s per year. Two near/medium-term mission examples to a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) will be discussed: a rendezvous mission
and a sample return mission.
Solar sails are large and lightweight reflective structures that are propelled by solar radiation pressure. This chapter covers their orbital and attitude dynamics and control. First, the advantages and limitations of solar sails are discussed and their history and development status is outlined. Because the dynamics of solar sails is governed by the (thermo-)optical properties of the sail film, the basic solar radiation pressure force models have to be described and compared before parameters to measure solar sail performance can be defined. The next part covers the orbital dynamics of solar sails for heliocentric motion, planetocentric motion, and motion at Lagrangian equilibrium points. Afterwards, some advanced solar radiation pressure force models are described, which allow to quantify the thrust force on solar sails of arbitrary shape, the effects of temperature, of light incidence angle, of surface roughness, and the effects of optical degradation of the sail film in the space environment. The orbital motion of a solar sail is strongly coupled to its rotational motion, so that the attitude control of these soft and flexible structures is very challenging, especially for planetocentric orbits that require fast attitude maneuvers. Finally, some potential attitude control methods are sketched and selection criteria are given.