Info
New industry of personal domestic spacecraft vehicles for everday use
A reliable, efficient, and economical means of spacecraft propulsion and attitude control is now available using an “Astro-Motive” patented engine.
A new technology type of system that runs on electrical power from a battery source charged by solar panels.
This "Astro-Motive" type of system is NOT an Ion or propellant type system.
The term “Astro-Motive” is used in conjunction with a device to refer to a personal domestic spacecraft vehicle for moving a person or persons in low or zero gravity conditions designed for travel or operate outside the orbits of the Earth, the moon, or another celestial body.
The scale-able "Astro-Motive" engine has the potential to create a whole new industry of domestic vehicles for everyday use similar in function such as cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles.
The word "Astro-motive" is coined to be the term used for future enterprise and development of these type of products.
Engine Details - Currently in the prototype development stage improvements being made daily.
Engineering measurements of the small scale prototype
Measurable and Repeatable - approx. 4.4% RMS Thrust
TWR = .044 / 1
Thrust - approx. 20 grams of continuous force using 48 watts of power
Steerable Vector -
Forward or Reverse Thrust
engine wt. - approx 1 Kg.
housing - approx 10 x 20 cm .
Electric powered - Battery or other source
Background Information
For thousands of years humankind has looked to the stars, but only relatively recently have we been able to reach beyond Earth’s gravity. The untapped potential for space exploration and exploitation are enormous, but the cost of researching and developing viable space programs once limited the playing field to a handful of rich and technologically advanced nations.
With the rise of companies such as SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada, etc., space exploration has finally become commercialized and not restricted to only wealthy industrialized countries with their geo-political agendas. Although these innovative companies have opened the playing field, there remain a prohibitive cost associated with sending objects into space. Launch costs are still in the millions of U.S. dollars, thus making satellites and zero-gravity research not quite available to all.
The cost of launching a satellite varies depending on the mass of the satellite, the orbital altitude, and the orbital inclination of the final satellite orbit. The advent of reusable launch systems has dropped the price of a launch in the range of 2,000-30,000 USD per kilogram. As total cost of placing a satellite or spacecraft into orbit is heavily dependent on the mass of the satellite, it is advantageous to reduce the mass of the propulsion system in a satellite or spacecraft being launched. One of method of reducing satellite mass would be to use a propulsion system that does not need a chemical fuel source.
As weight is of concern, a light weight battery would be preferred. A rechargeable battery connected to a solar array would also be capable of extending the life of the battery and thus the productive life of the satellite. Batteries can provide a source of electricity that is rechargeable for thousands of recharge cycles, thus potentially extending the life of the satellite to dozens of years of use. Batteries can be of any type with preference to lighter more efficient batteries with more recharge cycles and greater energy density. Batteries can be recharged with solar energy, thus avoiding the need for liquid or solid refueling.
The satellite is a spacecraft in orbit above the Earth. The satellite is far enough away from the Earth, such that air resistance and gravity is not a factor limiting propulsion. A satellite in low earth orbit can experience orbital decay without periodic boosts to maintain station. It may be possible for a satellite with this propulsion system to provide enough boost to maintain station. A satellite in high earth orbit would encounter less atmospheric drag and may not need to use thrust to maintain a geosynchronous orbit. However, a satellite in high earth orbit may still need to maneuver, for example: to avoid space debris or to cover a different geo location in the cases of remote sensing satellites.
The force produced by this propulsion system is very slight. However, in space, without air resistance or gravity, even a small force would be sufficient to slowly propel a spacecraft.
There are approximately 2,300 satellites in orbit around the earth today. Military, scientific, and communication satellites are vital to the functioning of many industrialized nations. While only a few countries have the capabilities to launch their own satellites, companies such as SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have privatized space launches and made it available for purchase. Thanks to the commoditization of space flight, even the smallest of nations can afford to place a satellite in orbit. Countries such as Ghana have launched their own satellite as a mark of national pride and also to cut the cost of buying satellite data from other countries. Consequently, geosynchronous orbit has become quite crowded.
Satellites are a key component of global telecommunication. About 60 percent of all satellites play some role in communication. Communication satellites are generally in geostationary orbit above the earth. Other satellites, such as remote sensing satellite, may need to be repositioned to cover another area of the globe. Satellites such as Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites in lower earth orbit may need to be constantly repositioned due to orbital decay. Some satellites may also need to be moved to avoid collision with other satellites or space debris.
In addition to active satellites, there are many defunct satellites that were never safely decommissioned. Oftentimes, these old satellites are left to continue in their stable orbit instead of moving them to a decaying orbit. These satellites are sometimes used as targets for missile tests resulting in even more space debris. NASA actively tracks more than 500,000 pieces of space debris in orbit around the Earth. Some are naturally occurring such as meteoroids and other are manmade. Some of these pieces of space debris may travel at speed of 17,500 miles per hour. In order to avoid catastrophic collision with space debris, oftentimes the spacecraft may need to be moved out of the path of collision.
A reliable, efficient, and economical means of propulsion is thus highly sought after by satellite manufacturers.
Satellites traditionally move by means of propellant thrusters.Monopropellant hydrazine thruster may be used for attitude, trajectory and orbit control of small and mid-size satellites and spacecraft. Thrust is generated when a control valve is commanded to open causing the propellant hydrazine to be fed to the thrust chamber where a decomposition reaction takes place within a catalyst bed. While regarded as dependable and low-cost, propellant thrusters suffer from at least one obvious flaw. Eventually, the propellant runs out. Large fuel tanks are not feasible due to the cost to weight ratio of getting a satellite into orbit. Thus, while dependable, propellant thrusters have a finite amount of fuel and cannot provide thrust over a long period of time especially if multiple maneuvers must be taken frequently.
Currently, the slowest form of propulsion, and the most fuel-efficient, is the ion engine or ion drive. An ion thruster or ion drive is a form of electric propulsion used primarily for spacecraft propulsion. It creates thrust by accelerating positive ions with electricity. An ion thruster ionizes a neutral gas by extracting some electrons out of atoms, creating a cloud of positive ions. Ion thrusters have demonstrated fuel efficiencies of over 90 percent as compared to the 35 percent efficiency of a chemical fuel rocket. Although efficient, ion thrusters still require some fuel in the form of a neutral gas. Additionally, ion thrusters are still relatively cutting-edge technology and thus expensive.
A reliable, efficient, and economical means of spacecraft propulsion and attitude control is now available using an “Astro-Motive” patented engine.
A new technology type of system that runs on electrical power from a battery source charged by solar panels.
This "Astro-Motive" type of system is NOT an Ion or propellant type system.
