Related papers: Wind--Pellet Shear Sailing
Different from previous modelings of self-propelled particles, we develop a method to propel the particles with a constant average velocity instead of a constant force. This constant propulsion velocity (CPV) approach is validated by its…
A microscopic analysis of the viscous energy gain of energetic particles in (gradual) non-relativistic shear flows is presented. We extend previous work and derive the Fokker-Planck coefficients for the average rate of momentum change and…
In the nearly 60 years of spaceflight we have accomplished wonderful feats of exploration that have shown the incredible spirit of the human drive to explore and understand our universe. Yet in those 60 years we have barely left our solar…
Aeolian sediment transport is observed to occur on Mars as well as other extraterrestrial environments, generating ripples and dunes as on Earth. The search for terrestrial analogues of planetary bedforms, as well as environmental…
In the framework of a strict mathematical approach based on classical theory of elasticity we present an idea of the deployment and stretching of the circular solar sail attached to the inflatable toroidal shell. It is predicted that by…
The solar wind (SW) and local interstellar medium (LISM) are turbulent media. Their interaction is governed by complex physical processes and creates heliospheric regions with significantly different properties in terms of particle…
The role of different stellar feedback mechanisms in giant molecular clouds is not well understood. This is especially true for regions with many interacting clouds as would be found in a galactic spiral arm. In this paper, building on…
One proposed method for spacecraft to reach nearby stars is by accelerating sails using either solar radiation pressure or directed energy. This idea constitutes the thesis behind the Breakthrough Starshot project, which aims to accelerate…
Ultrathin lightsails propelled by laser radiation pressure to relativistic speeds are currently the most promising route for flyby-based exoplanet exploration. However, there has been a notable lack of experimental characterization of key…
We investigate the airborne transport of particles on a granular surface by the saltation mechanism through numerical simulation of particle motion coupled with turbulent flow. We determine the saturated flux $q_{s}$ and show that its…
Solar sails propelled by radiation pressure enable space missions that cannot be achieved using chemical rockets alone. Significant in-space propulsion for missions such as a solar polar orbiter may be achieved with a sail that deviates…
X-ray observations of several kiloparsec-scale extragalactic jets favour a synchrotron origin. The short cooling times of the emitting electrons requires distributed acceleration of electrons up to sub-PeV energies. In a previous paper, we…
High power Earth and orbital-based directed energy (DE) systems pose a potential hazard to Earth orbiting spacecraft. The use of very high power, large aperture DE systems to propel spacecraft is being pursued as the only known, feasible…
The current preferred envisioned method for transmitting power to a space elevator climber is a laser/photovoltaic (PV) system. In this, a ground-based laser beam would transmit megawatts of optical power through the atmosphere to an…
Tightly packed granular particles under shear often exhibit intriguing intermittencies, specifically, sudden stress drops that we refer to as quaking. To probe the nature of this phenomenon, we prototype a circular shear cell that is…
In this study we considered a solar sail coated with materials that undergo thermal desorption at a specific temperature, as a result of heating by solar radiation at a particular heliocentric distance. Three different scenarios, that only…
Future missions to Mars and Venus will make use of aerobraking and aerocapture in order to gain mass through the saving of fuel at planetary arrival. So far only aerobraking has been demonstrated, if the Mars Premier project has paved the…
On 4 January 2007 the author published the article Wireless Transfer of Electricity in Outer Space in http://arxiv.org wherein he offered and researched a new revolutionary method of transferring electric energy in space. In that same…
Pumping airborne wind energy (AWE) systems employ a kite to convert wind energy into electricity, through a cyclic reeling motion of the tether. The problem of computing the optimal reeling speed for the sake of maximizing the average cycle…
Induced magnetospheres form around planetary bodies with atmospheres through the interaction of the solar wind with their ionosphere. Induced magnetospheres are highly dependent on the solar wind conditions and have only been studied with…