Three-Dimensional Particle Tracing Analysis of a Rotational Magnetic Sail

Abstract

A magnetic sail is a propellantless propulsion system that has great potential in long-term space travel. It utilizes the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetic field generated by a high-current coil. However, the requirement of a large-sized coil with a high working current limits its practical application. To reduce the coil size while maintaining the thrust, a rotational magnetic sail is proposed and analyzed using the three-dimensional particle tracing method. The results show that the magnetic sail thrust significantly increases with the rotational speed and is influenced by plasma parameters. Moreover, the sail achieves the maximum thrust and the most stable attitude when the magnetic moment vector is perpendicular to the particle impact direction. The analysis implies that the rotational magnetic sail can shrink to about a minimum of 20% and approximately 1% of the size of a static magnetic sail in the solar wind and low Earth orbit, respectively, while maintaining the same thrust.