Solar Electric Propulsion Module Concept for the BiFrost Architecture
Author(s)
Rohrschneider, Reuben R.
Sakai, Tadashi
Steffes, Stephen R.
Grillmayer, Georg
St. Germain, Brad David
Olds, John R.
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Abstract
This paper describes the design of a solar electric
propulsion module for the Bifrost architecture. Bifrost
consists of a magnetic levitation launch tube with the
exit end elevated to 20 km. A 35,000 kg hybrid
logistics module (HLM) is designed to attach to an
array of propulsion modules that accommodate
different missions. The solar electric propulsion
(SEP) module is designed to circularize a payload in
Geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) from a highly
elliptic transfer orbit. A configuration consisting of a
central spacecraft body propelling itself with electric
thrusters and gathering solar power from two
inflatable concentrating reflectors was chosen.
Concentrating reflectors were chosen over thin film
arrays due to the large mass savings.
Details of the conceptual design process are
presented. Disciplines include trajectory, power
system, propulsion, and weights & sizing. A
computational framework was used to wrap the
disciplinary analysis to speed the design process, and
optimization was performed to minimize the initial
mass of the vehicle from within the design framework.
The resulting vehicle has an initial mass in orbit of
40,780 kg.
A demonstration model was then designed and
constructed from the conceptual design. The
manufacturing process for the inflatable reflector and
the spacecraft body are described in detail. The
demonstration model shows that an inflatable reflector
is a feasible method of generating large amounts of
power in space.
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Date
2002-10
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265905 bytes
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