Abstract
The α particle propelling is a technology under developing by the author’s research group, which uses α decay isotopes emitting high-speed particles to generate thrust. In this paper we mainly designed the thrust magnitude control and vector control structure suitable for this propelling principle and preliminarily analyzed its control performance. The proposed structure mounts the trust film composed of the decay nuclides onto a quasi-spherical frame surface that is conducive to vector synthesis. The traveling wave type ultrasonic motor drives the diaphragm to control the thrust magnitude of each thrust unit independently and efficiently. The vector control of the joint thrust is implemented by taking advantage of the diversity of combination of multiple thrust units. Theoretical calculation and analysis showed that the thruster structure could achieve the thrust magnitude control accuracy of 0.05µN, and the thrust angle control accuracy of 0.5-1.5 degrees.
Highlights
The principle of α particle propelling is to coat radioactive material onto a thin film exposed on the surface of spacecraft, and use its α decay to emit high-energy particles into space to form a recoil force
The thruster based on α decay principle has the characteristics of high specific impulse, long life, low power requirement and accuracy control potential
High accuracy micro-thruster is the key technology of drag-free flight spacecraft, and drag-free flight technology has been widely used in basic physical verification[2], gravity field measurement missions[3,4]
Summary
The principle of α particle propelling is to coat radioactive material onto a thin film exposed on the surface of spacecraft, and use its α decay to emit high-energy particles into space to form a recoil force. It has unique application value compared to solar sail, electric propulsion and other micro-propulsion technologies This concept was proposed by European scholars in the last century[1], but it has not been further developed. The main drag-free hired propelling methods have been electric propulsion[5,6] and cold gas propulsion[7,8], both. Vector propulsion is another key technology of space propulsion[9,10]. Considering the physical characteristics of α decay, the control structure of α particle micro-thruster is designed to meet the requirements of drag-free flight and orbit control of pico&nano satellite, and the preliminary performance analysis was carried out
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