Electrodynamic Tether Propulsion and Power Generation at Jupiter
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NASA / TP--1998 -208475 Electrodynamic Tether Propulsion and Power Generation at Jupiter D.L. Gallagher and L. Johnson Marshall Space Flight Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama J. Moore SRS Technologies, Huntsville, Alabama F. Bagenal University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado National Aeronautics and Space Administration Marshall Space Flight Center June 1998 Available from: NASA Center for AeroSpace Information National Technical Information Service 800 Elkridge Landing Road 5285 Port Royal Road Linthicum Heights, MD 21090-2934 Springfield, VA 22161 (301 ) 621-0390 (703) 487-4650 TABLE OF CONTENTS . INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 2. BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................... 2 3. TETHER PHYSICS AT JUPITER .............................................................................................. 3 4. TETHER PROPULSION AND POWER MODEL .................................................................... 11 5. JOVIAN CAPTURE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... ! 2 6. JOVIAN ELECTRODYNAMIC TETHER POWER GENERATION AND MANEUVERING CAPABILITY ..................................................................................... 16 . MISSION-SPECIFIC ISSUES .................................................................................................... ! 9 7.1 Gravity Gradient Forces ....................................................................................................... 19 7.2 Micrometeoroid Threat ........................................................................................................ 20 ° SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................. 21 9. RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................. 23 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 24 111 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Total electron density with constant density contours at 10, 100, 500, 1,000, 3,000, and 6,000 cm -3 .......................................................................................................................... 4 2. Spacecraft speed relative to the Jovian magnetic field .............................................................. 5 3. Induced EMF in a 10-km tether at Jupiter ................................................................................. 6 4. Tether current contours for 0.1,0.5, 1, 5, 10, and 20 A ............................................................. 7 5. Force experienced by the tether ................................................................................................ 9 6. Total power developed in the tether .......................................................................................... 10 7. Orbit footprint for Jovian orbit capture with 11.009-km bare-wire tether ................................ 13 8. Tether propulsive force magnitude during capture maneuver ................................................... 13 9. Tether current and voltage during capture maneuver ................................................................ 14 10. Orbit circularization using capture tether .................................................................................. 15 11. Power generation capability for 5-day elliptic orbit .................................................................. 16 12. Effect of tether power generation forces on polar orbit ............................................................ 17 13. Tether orbital maneuvering capability for changing apojove .................................................... 18 14. Tether orbital manuevering capability for plane change ........................................................... 18 15. A rotating spacecraft and tether system could be used to maintain tether tension .................... 19 16. The probability of survival for a single strand tether in near-Jovian space .............................. 20 17. Artist's concept of an electrodynamic tether-augmented spacecraft at Jupiter ......................... 21 V TECHNICAL PUBLICATION ELECTRODYNAMIC TETHER PROPULSION AND POWER GENERATION AT JUPITER 1. INTRODUCTION This report discusses the results of a study performed to evaluate the feasibility and merits of using an electrodynamic tether (EDT) for propulsion and power generation for a spacecraft in the Jovian system. The environment of the Jovian system has properties which are particularly favorable for utilization of an EDT. Specifically, the planet has a strong magnetic field and the mass of the planet dictates high orbital velocities which, when combined with the planet's rapid rotation rate, can produce very large relative velocities between the magnetic field and the spacecraft. In a circular orbit close to the planet, tether propulsive forces are found to be as high as 50 N and power levels as high as 1 MW. Models were developed to simulate tether propulsion and power generation performance in the Jovian planetary environment. The simulation code was used to evaluate the use of an EDT for Jovian orbit insertion, orbital maneuvering once established in Jovian orbit, and spacecraft power generation. No at- tempt is made to optimize a tether design for a specific mission. Instead, the model was exercised in several generic scenarios intended to demonstrate the potential of an EDT for future engineering studies and mis- sion planning. For all cases, the tether is assumed to be uninsulated and to have a 1-mm diameter. The length is specified as an input to the simulation and it is assumed that the tether is deployed radially. 2. BACKGROUND In recent years, tethers have come to offer significant opportunities in many low-Earth orbit appli- cations. Conducting and nonconducting tethers are being considered for electrical power and propulsion systems. 1 Conducting tethers or EDT's derive their properties as a result of the current flowing through a moving wire in a magnetic field and in the presence of a plasma or conducting medium. Tethers may be useful in any planetary system where there exists a magnetic field and a plasma through which current closure can occur. But why Jupiter? The first inducement is the large Jovian magnetic field, much larger than that at the Earth. The real motivation, however, is the need for alternative power generation and propulsion tech- niques for future missions to Jupiter. Due to low solar luminosity, radioactive thermoelectric generators (RTG's) have been used for electrical power in all past deep space missions. The finite risk of releasing plutonium into the terrestrial environment may rule out RTG's on future missions. The possibility of using solar panels for electrical power generation has improved in recent years. Even with improvements in this technology, however, extended exposure to high levels of radiation in the Jovian system are expected to rapidly degrade the effectiveness of solar arrays. Extended operations in the Jovian system, or around any planet, also typically require use of an expendable propellant for orbital maneuvering. This may lead to high "wet" spacecraft mass at launch and/or limited lifetime on orbit. It is for these reasons, and because of the strong magnetic field and rapid planetary rotation, that electromagnetic tethers are being considered for use in the Jovian magnetosphere. Stion 3 reports the results of the assessment from a physics perspective. Stions 4-6 more specifically address the tether's use for spacecraft applications. 2 3. TETHER PHYSICS AT JUPITER This stion of the report discusses the initial results of analyzing the performance of an EDT in the Jovian planetary system. Tether modeling is based on results from the TSS-I R mission and the theories of Parker and Murphy 2 and Sanmartin. 3 The computed tether performance represents maximum limiting current and resulting power estimates. The Jovian magnetic field model is obtained from Khurana, 4 con- sisting of the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) 06 internal field model, and an Euler potential formu- lation for the external field. The plasma density model is a simplified version of that presented by Bagenal 5 and consists of a spherically symmetric distribution, plus an Io toms. The results also depend on several assumptions. The electron temperature, which is used to estimate the thermal current to the tether is as- sumed to be 10 eV. Inside of 5 Jovian radii (Rj), the electron temperature is only a few electron volts and outside of this distance, it is 10-50 eV. This means the estimated current will be somewhat high inside this distance, and low outside this distance. Tether current varies with the square root of the thermal electron temperature, therefore, it is not tremendously sensitive to it. A tether length of 10 km has been assumed, along with a cylindrical tether of l-mm diameter. The analysis of EDT performance is accomplished in two coordinate systems. One is the System III (1965) coordinate system, which rotates with the Jovian magnetic field. Both the magnetic field and den- sity models are defined in this coordinate system. The sond is an inertial coordinate system, where the z axis is along the planetary spin axis. Due to the