System for Electromagnetic Capture of Lunar-Launched Payloads into GEO

Duncan, Sean; Schubert, Peter J.; DeLaurentis, Daniel

doi:10.2514/6.2007-5431

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…A powerful solenoid would be mounted to the end of this to redirect the lunar payloads with their ferrous spheres into halo parking orbits. 24,25 The truss would need to be long enough to minimize the risk of accidental collisions with the solar arrays and pressurized segments. A crew of three will be aboard the station to oversee L1 operations.…”

Section: L-1 Space Stationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Depending on the rate at which these payloads are received from the lunar surface and the rate at which they depart for GEO, a sizeable inventory could be stored in circulating halo orbits at L1. An earlier study 24 used highpower solenoids in fly-by and pass-through configurations operating at high power to redirect similar payloads into GEO. Because of the much lower relative speeds involved in this study (assuming < 100 m/s relative to the station), the power requirements of the solenoids on the space station can be much lower.…”

Section: Halo Orbit Operationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…25 This would make it possible to have multiple "rings" or "cycles" of payloads with minimal chances of collisions. Careful redirection of payloads can be accomplished with free-flying drones or tugs that use the same ablative laser propulsion 27 described below and the "fly-through" and "pass-through" solenoids described by Schubert et al 19,24,27 These could fly alongside the "swarm" of payloads, stabilizing their orbits or sending them to the station for processing. Power for these smaller spacecraft could be provided by a combination of photovoltaic solar arrays and beamed power from the station.…”

Section: Solenoid Trussmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Lunar-sourced GEO Powersats: An Integrated ISRU System

Schubert

Anderson

Somera

et al. 2018

2018 AIAA SPACE and Astronautics Forum and Exposition

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Solar power satellites (powersats) can be built almost entirely from lunar resources. When C-class asteroids are also included as ore bodies a complete powersat can be built through in situ resource utilization (ISRU) given appropriate processing and transportation technology. This article provides an in-depth overview of the technical feasibility and economic viability of lunar construction and operations for powersat component construction and delivery to geostationary earth orbit (GEO). Techno-economic analysis suggests a return on investment in seven years assuming a three percent discount rate. Electrical power collected in GEO and beamed to terrestrial receivers by the powersats can be sold as baseload power in the wholesale electricity market to generate revenue. This work presents a complete concept of operations from initial rocket launches to regolith harvesting through transport to GEO. Lunar infrastructure can be constructed of modules to optimize size and weight for launch costs. Future growth can be derived from using ISRU to build additional processing bases. A scaleup in this manner can provide 22% of the world's energy needs by the end of a 20-year period. This work builds upon previous studies and completes the architectural description of predominantly lunar-sourced GEO powersats.

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Section: L-1 Space Stationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Halo Orbit Operationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Solenoid Trussmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lunar-sourced GEO Powersats: An Integrated ISRU System

Schubert

Anderson

Somera

et al. 2018

2018 AIAA SPACE and Astronautics Forum and Exposition

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“…First, the cislunar infrastructure for moving materials electromagnetically 4,6,7 is assumed to be pre-existing and have negligible operating costs. Second, a large-scale lunar manufacturing capability is extant, operated robotically, powered by sunlight, and can provide solar panels, aluminum, and iron with negligible cost.…”

Section: A Overall Economicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Launch into orbit requires 24 times less energy when starting from the moon, and benefits further from the lack of a friction-generating atmosphere. As such, it is possible to fabricate PV panels on the moon and deliver them electromagnetically into orbit where they can be electromagnetically received 4 . This makes feasible new configurations for SPSs which overcome several of the key technical challenges experienced by previous SSP architectures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of a Novel SPS Configuration Enabled by Lunar ISRU

Schubert

Pinto

Pires

et al. 2015

AIAA SPACE 2015 Conference and Exposition

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Architectures for space-based solar power using in situ resource utilization (ISRU) of space materials can greatly reduce earth launch mass and can enable geometric capacity growth. These two factors allow the potential for low cost power generation after development of an in-space infrastructure. A collection of extraction and processing methods designed for lunar operation provides for large volumes of low cost solar panels. With abundant panels a novel configuration for solar power satellites (SPS) is possible which avoids many of the challenges of existing designs. The so-called "tin can" SPS has no moving parts. It includes integral thermal radiators. Station-keeping requirements are minimal. Structural integrity is designed-in so that balance of plant mass is minimal. In this work the architecture and infrastructure supporting the tin can SPS is developed to support rapid construction and deployment. Performance estimates for the SPS are provided regarding heat and energy balance, and specific mass requirements.

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Materials Selection and Processing for Lunar Based Space Solar Power

Schubert¹

2010

Ceramic Transactions Series

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The ultimate form of solar power is to collect sunlight in space where there is no night, no clouds, and no atmosphere. Low-density radio waves can transmit this power to earth-based receivers, invert the power, and couple it to the grid. This low-pollution power source can be scaled to the entirety of human enterprise. Until recently, economics argued against space solar power (SSP), because launch costs of the megatons of materials are prohibitive. A new approach is to use lunar materials for the bulk of SSP mass. The moon is 21% silicon, which can be formed into solar panels. Several new innovations make possible economical production of electric power from space, provided key materials challenges can be overcome. This paper reviews the ultra-high temperature ceramics and metals required for lunar-based SSP, and some of the laboratory results from experiments to build factories which, when landed on the moon, will produce many times their launch mass in valuable solar panels and array infrastructure. INTRODUCTIONHumankind uses energy at a prodigious rate, 472 Quads/year as of 2006. Projections indicate a need for 678 Quads/year by 2030, equivalent to an extra 7,500 GW of additional installed baseload capacity 1 . At a linear rate, this means 286 GW of worldwide power plant installations every year for generations. With mega-nuclear facilities at 5-8 GW, taking 8 years to build, at a cost of 25 billion USD each, this amounts to a trillion dollars a year. Clearly, a very large, scalable, and environmentally-sustainable power source is needed.Renewable energy sources help, however, their availability and accessibility is limited. Table 1 shows the available power in GW for traditional renewable energy sources. Only solar power has the ability to meet worldwide power demand beyond 2030.

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System for Electromagnetic Capture of Lunar-Launched Payloads into GEO

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

Lunar-sourced GEO Powersats: An Integrated ISRU System

Lunar-sourced GEO Powersats: An Integrated ISRU System

Analysis of a Novel SPS Configuration Enabled by Lunar ISRU

Materials Selection and Processing for Lunar Based Space Solar Power

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