8 research outputs found
Coulomb drag propulsion experiments of ESTCube-2 and FORESAIL-1
This paper presents two technology experiments â the plasma brake for deorbiting and the electric solar wind sail for interplanetary propulsion â on board the ESTCube-2 and FORESAIL-1 satellites. Since both technologies employ the Coulomb interaction between a charged tether and a plasma flow, they are commonly referred to as Coulomb drag propulsion. The plasma brake operates in the ionosphere, where a negatively charged tether deorbits a satellite. The electric sail operates in the solar wind, where a positively charged tether propels a spacecraft, while an electron emitter removes trapped electrons. Both satellites will be launched in low Earth orbit carrying nearly identical Coulomb drag propulsion experiments, with the main difference being that ESTCube-2 has an electron emitter and it can operate in the positive mode. While solar-wind sailing is not possible in low Earth orbit, ESTCube-2 will space-qualify the components necessary for future electric sail experiments in its authentic environment. The plasma brake can be used on a range of satellite mass classes and orbits. On nanosatellites, the plasma brake is an enabler of deorbiting â a 300-m-long tether fits within half a cubesat unit, and, when charged with -1Â kV, can deorbit a 4.5-kg satellite from between a 700- and 500-km altitude in approximately 9â13 months. This paper provides the design and detailed analysis of low-Earth-orbit experiments, as well as the overall mission design of ESTCube-2 and FORESAIL-1.Peer reviewe
Coulomb drag propulsion experiments of ESTCube-2 and FORESAIL-1
This paper presents two technology experiments â the plasma brake for deorbiting and the electric solar wind sail for interplanetary propulsion â on board the ESTCube-2 and FORESAIL-1 satellites. Since both technologies employ the Coulomb interaction between a charged tether and a plasma flow, they are commonly referred to as Coulomb drag propulsion. The plasma brake operates in the ionosphere, where a negatively charged tether deorbits a satellite. The electric sail operates in the solar wind, where a positively charged tether propels a spacecraft, while an electron emitter removes trapped electrons. Both satellites will be launched in low Earth orbit carrying nearly identical Coulomb drag propulsion experiments, with the main difference being that ESTCube-2 has an electron emitter and it can operate in the positive mode. While solar-wind sailing is not possible in low Earth orbit, ESTCube-2 will space-qualify the components necessary for future electric sail experiments in its authentic environment. The plasma brake can be used on a range of satellite mass classes and orbits. On nanosatellites, the plasma brake is an enabler of deorbiting â a 300-m-long tether fits within half a cubesat unit, and, when charged with - 1 kV, can deorbit a 4.5-kg satellite from between a 700- and 500-km altitude in approximately 9â13 months. This paper provides the design and detailed analysis of low-Earth-orbit experiments, as well as the overall mission design of ESTCube-2 and FORESAIL-1.</p
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Negative ion formation by low energy electron attachment to gas-phase 5-nitrouracil
Dissociative electron attachment (DEA) to gas phase 5-nitrouracil (5NU) is studied using a double focusing sector field mass spectrometer and a hemispherical electron monochromator (HEM) combined with a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS). Besides the formation of the long-lived parent anion 5NUâ, low energy electron impact (<20 eV) leads to a number of anionic fragments. The ion yield for all observed negative ions has been recorded as a function of the incident electron energy. The most dominant negative ion observed was (5NUâNO2)â, which is produced directly in the ion source and also weakly as a product of a metastable decay of 5NUâ. These experiments were supported by quantum chemical calculations based on the density functional theory to calculate the electrostatic potential and molecular orbitals