Related papers: Interplanetary Medium as Fuel for Plasma Thrusters
An interstellar Bussard ramjet is a spaceship using the protons of the interstellar medium in a fusion engine to produce thrust. In recent papers, it was shown that the relativistic equation of motion of an ideal ramjet and of a ramjet with…
As part of the NASA Starlight collaboration, we look at the implications of radiation effects from impacts with the interstellar medium (ISM) on a directed energy driven relativistic spacecraft. The spacecraft experiences a stream of…
I review those properties of the interstellar medium within 15 light-years of the Sun which will be relevant for the planning of future rapid ($v /ge 0.1c$) interstellar space missions to the nearest stars. As the detailed properties of the…
Identifying the sources of the highest energy cosmic rays requires understanding how they are deflected by the stochastic, spatially intermittent intergalactic magnetic field. Here we report measurements of energetic charged-particle…
A theme that has come to the fore in advanced planning for long-range space exploration is the concept of "propellantless propulsion" or "field propulsion." One version of this concept involves the projected possibility that empty space…
A theme that has come to the fore in advanced planning for long-range space exploration is the concept of "propellantless propulsion" or "field propulsion." One version of this concept involves the projected possibility that empty space…
We investigate obstacles of superluminal "warp drive" travels from interactions with interstellar matter and from curvature effects. The effect of collision of interstellar dust particles and photons with the spacecraft will all lead to a…
The flux of neutrinos and photons originating from cosmic ray interactions with the interstellar medium in the galaxy is calculated based on current models for high energy particle interactions. The contribution from a possible dark matter…
New measurements using radio and plasma-wave instruments in interplanetary space have shown that nanometer-scale dust, or nanodust, is a significant contributor to the total mass in interplanetary space. Better measurements of nanodust will…
We discuss a general mechanism which allows to explain naturally both radio and high energy emission by pulsars. We also discuss the plasma distribution in the region surrounding the pulsar, the pulsar wind and the formation of jet along…
A neutral beam injection technique is employed in all major TOKAMAK facilities for heating of magnetically confined plasma. The question then arises, whether a similar mechanism might work in astrophysical objects? For instance, a…
It is possible to generate an accelerated period of expansion from reasonable potentials acting between the universe particle constituents. The pressure of primordial nucleons interacting via a simple nuclear potential is obtained via…
The interstellar medium is the engine room for galactic evolution. While much is known about the conditions within the ISM, many important areas regarding the formation and evolution of the various phases of the ISM leading to star…
I derive the space-time distribution of energy and momentum deposited by a fast parton traversing a perturbative quark-gluon plasma by considering the fast parton as the source of an external color field interacting with the medium. I…
We present a design concept for a space engine that can continuously remove the orbit debris by using the debris as a propellant. Space robotic cleaner is adopted to capture the targeting debris and to transfer them into the engine. Debris…
A method and facilities for delivering payload and people into outer space are presented. This method uses, in general, engines located on a planetary surface. The installation consists of a space apparatus, power drive stations, which…
In spite of accounting for only a small fraction of the mass of the Interstellar Medium (ISM), dust plays a primary role in many physical and chemical processes in the Universe. It is the main driver of extinction of radiation in the…
This paper presents a novel micropropulsion system for nanosatellite applications - a liquid fed pulsed-plasma thruster (LF-PPT) comprised of a Lorentz-force pulsed plasma accelerator (PPA) and a low-energy surface flashover (LESF) igniter.…
Aerosols appear to be ubiquitous in exoplanetary atmospheres. However because our understanding of the physical processes that govern aerosols is incomplete, their presence makes the measurement of atmospheric properties, such as molecular…
Mars is the next destination after Earth to support terrestrial life. Decades of Mars exploration has fascinated space explorers to endeavour for a human expedition. But human Mars enterprise is complicated than conventional mission as the…