Electrostatic Plasma Brake for Deorbiting a Satellite
Electrostatic Plasma Brake for Deorbiting a Satellite
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用于卫星脱轨的静电等离子制动器
DOI：
10.2514/1.47537
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发表时间：
2010
影响因子：
1.9
通讯作者：
P. Janhunen
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
P. Janhunen
废弃卫星形式的空间碎片日益令人关切，特别是在人口密集的600 - 1000公里高度轨道上。为防止形成新的太空垃圾，新卫星应配备离轨装置。对于新兴的一类非常小的卫星来说，这个问题尤其棘手，因为使用制动火箭作为离轨机制可能会产生过高的相对成本影响。我们描述了一种新型的离轨机构，适用于小卫星的质量高达几百公斤。该方法是基于电离层等离子体与带负电荷的细系绳之间的库仑阻力相互作用的等离子体制动装置。该方法类似于众所周知的电动系绳离轨机制，但基本的物理机制不同，新方法的质量和功耗小一个数量级。新方法使用与最近发明的电动太阳风帆推进方法相同的物理原理（库仑阻力）。此外，等离子体制动器所需的系绳非常薄，如果意外切断，其松散的碎片不会对其他航天器构成威胁，并将迅速下降到大气层中。静电等离子体制动器可解决与小型卫星有关的空间碎片问题，从而扩大小型卫星的使用范围。
Space debris in the form of abandoned satellites is a growing concern, especially at the heavily populated 600― 1000 km altitude orbits. To prevent new space junk from forming, new satellites should be equipped with a deorbiting mechanism. The problem is especially tricky for the emerging class of very small satellites for which using a braking rocket as a deorbit mechanism may have a prohibitively high relative cost impact. We describe a novel type of deorbiting mechanism that is suitable for small satellites with a mass of up to a few hundred kilograms. The method is a plasma brake device based on coulomb drag interaction between the ionospheric plasma and a negatively charged thin tether. The method resembles the well-known electrodynamic tether deorbit mechanism, but the underlying physical mechanism is different and the new method has an order of magnitude smaller mass and power consumption. The new method uses the same physical principle (coulomb drag) as the recently invented electric solar wind sail propulsion method. Furthermore, the tether required by the plasma brake is so thin that, if accidentally cut, the loose fragments of it pose no threat to other spacecraft and will rapidly descend into the atmosphere. The electrostatic plasma brake could enable an extended use of small satellites by resolving their associated space debris problem.