SBIR Phase I: A Fully Electric Space Vehicle Propulsion Engine

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是实现航天器推进方式的根本性变化，可能导致太空旅行速度加快数量级。最近的物理突破表明，电磁动力发动机的开发可以在合适的条件下实现高速旅行。在商业上，缩短到地球、近地轨道、月球和太阳系更远目的地的过境时间具有巨大的潜力。研制这种发动机的成功，首先将通过改进卫星定位和访问轨道来实现。这一推进系统的进一步扩大可以作为一种平台技术，由于对化学推进剂的需求减少和速度提高，能够更多地进入太空。这个SBIR第一阶段项目通过验证电磁驱动推进器的创造来开发和测试原型发动机。通过利用复杂的介电材料作为引入电磁能量的环境，概念验证发动机将验证弱力和强力条件没有被违反，并且正能量密度可以引发纳米级扭曲，以进一步可扩展的发动机的形式展示新型电磁推进。许多研究人员已经开始在阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦的广义相对论和现在的米格尔·阿尔库比尔的度量学的基础上进行工作，该度量学认为，船只可以通过选择性扭曲来推进。两个关键目标是复杂介质材料的开发和实施，以及实现足够推进所需的射频功率的确定。项目方法将包括：(A)数学建模，(B)对该方法的不同实施例进行全面模拟，(C)使用已建立的激光干涉测量方法对纳米扭曲进行实验验证，以及(D)设计和测试原型推进发动机。除了最初的原型，接下来的阶段包括优化功率/失真指标，将失真与推力相关联，以及最大化推重比。最终，这项研究有望带来增强的电力推进，这种推进最初将适用于卫星，但最终将适用于地球上和行星外的广泛推进。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a fundamental change in the way spacecraft propulsion can be achieved, perhaps leading to orders of magnitude faster space travel. Recent physics breakthroughs suggest that the development of an electromagnetically powered engine could enable high-speed travel under the right conditions. Commercially, there is great potential to decrease transit time to destinations on earth, to low-earth orbit, to the moon, and to destinations further in our solar system. Success in developing this engine will initially be developed by improving satellite positioning and accessing orbits. Further scale up of this propulsion system could serve as a platform technology to enable increased access to space due to reduced need for chemical propellant and enhanced speeds. This SBIR Phase I project develops and tests a prototype engine by verifying the creation of electromagnetically driven propulsion. By utilizing a complex dielectric material as the environment where electromagnetic energy is introduced, the proof-of-concept engine will verify that the weak and strong force conditions are not violated and that a positive energy density can initiate nanoscopic distortions, to demonstrate novel electromagnetic propulsion in the form of further scalable engines. A number of researchers have begun building upon the work of Albert Einstein’s general relativity theory and now Miguel Alcubierre’s metric that suggests that a vessel can be propelled by selective distortion. Two key goals are the development and implementation of the complex dielectric material, and the determinization of the radio frequency power required to achieve sufficient propulsion. The project approach will include: (a) mathematical modeling, (b) comprehensive simulations of different embodiments of the approach, (c) experimental verification of nanoscopic distortions using an established laser interferometry approach, and (d) design and testing of the prototype propulsion engine. Beyond the initial prototype, the next stages include an optimization of the power/distortion metrics, association of the distortion to thrust, and maximization of the thrust to weight ratio. Ultimately, this research is expected to lead to enhanced electric propulsion that will be applicable initially to satellites, but ultimately, to a wide range of on earth and off planet propulsion.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.