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#1 2025-04-06 05:28:30
- Yuri Pilipishin
- Member
- From: Lviv, Ukraine
- Registered: 2017-05-21
- Posts: 29
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Yet another Solar Sail
Yet another solar sail design, invented by me more than twenty years ago. Our team faced complications, even threats not to publish it. It even reached the point of threats that this design intersects with the interests of aliens, I don’t know if this is true.
The method of using centrifugal force to hold the solar sail is used. However, in my invention, the solar sail has the shape of an equilateral polygon (preferably a triangle), to the vertices of which smaller control surfaces are attached, which are also deployed by centrifugal force. Due to this arrangement, the best ratio of the solar sail surface to the mass of the apparatus is achieved, and therefore the best acceleration is achieved.
The payload, such as a video camera, as well as the control computer and battery, are placed on the vertices of the control surfaces, as far as possible from the center of mass. Thus, their masses also participate in holding the sail.
At the points where the control surfaces are connected to the vertices of the main sail, control electric motors are placed, which turn the control surfaces relative to the main sail. Thus, it becomes possible to change the speed of rotation of the apparatus, as well as control its turns in space, changing the trajectory.
Photovoltaic arrays that power the control electric motors, the computer, and all other equipment are placed on the vertices of the main solar sail and on the vertices of the control surfaces. In the figure, they are shown in green, while all other surfaces of the solar sail are shown in yellow.
This version of the solar sail can have various applications, one of which is the exploration of asteroids, and search for minerals on them. The solar sail can fly repeatedly from one asteroid to another, exploring them all, closely examining the surfaces of the asteroids with a video camera. Thus, it would be possible for humanity, for quite reasonable money, to closely examine most asteroids and create a database of what is found on their surfaces.
For the avoidance of doubt, I can confirm my authorship of this invention on a lie detector.
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#2 2025-04-06 05:52:02
- Calliban
- Member
- From: Northern England, UK
- Registered: 2019-08-18
- Posts: 3,989
Re: Yet another Solar Sail
Welcome to the board Yuri. That is a neat design. I have often wondered if it would be possible to mass produce common design probes to explore individual asteroids within the main belt and also the Jupiter Trojans. A solar sail would be the best fit propulsion system for this idea. A Starship could launch dozens of probes into low Earth orbit. Each would deploy its own sail and gradually accelerate to escape velocity.
"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."
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