P1_10 Solar propulsion

Authors

  • Thomas Morland-Nuttall University of Leicester
  • Adam Fox University of Leicester
  • Daniel Evans University of Leicester
  • John Bowes-Reynolds University of Leicester

Abstract

Solar sails and electric sails are proposed methods of spacecraft propulsion, they both use particles from the Sun to produce this thrust. But, to produce thrusts equivalent to modern ion engines (0.5 N)[4] a solar sail would need to be $54,900 m^2$ and an electric sail would need to have $8.33 \times 10^6 m$  of wire, this makes both methods only practical for light spacecraft.

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Published

14-12-2021

How to Cite

Morland-Nuttall, T., Fox, A., Evans, D., & Bowes-Reynolds, J. (2021). P1_10 Solar propulsion. Physics Special Topics, 20(1). Retrieved from https://journals.le.ac.uk/index.php/pst/article/view/4016