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Currently, the E-sail thrust estimate ranges roughly two orders of magnitude, ~10s of nN/m up to ~1000 nN/m, for 1AU solar wind conditions. In this proposed work, we aim to measure E-sail thrust directly in a vacuum chamber and to compare against a validated plasma model to extrapolate to 1AU solar wind conditions, raising the TRL from 2 to 4. We plan to develop an innovative and unique thrust stand to directly measure thrust on a charged tether due to a flowing plasma in a vacuum chamber. Current thrust stands are built to handle large and massive propulsions systems, such as electric propulsion, which are inappropriate for a light weight E-sail propulsion system. By the end of this project, we aim to design, build, and test a thrust stand to measure E-sail thrust directly and compare with a validated plasma model. The next step would be to submit an ECI to further enhance TRLs of more subsystems.
We will use an existing process (thrust stands) to measure thrust produced by charged tether material in a plasma environment for the new technology of E-sail. A E-sail heliopause or solar polar mission would reduce cost, schedule, and risk by providing a direct trajectory injection without any complex gravity assists.
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