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#1 2014-05-01 12:59:42
- Quaoar
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- Registered: 2013-12-13
- Posts: 665
Plasma magnetoshell areocapture and entry system
Using a magnetic shield for entry is an old idea of Von Braun, who thinked to a fictional (at his times) light weight high temperature superconductive coil.
The device proposed by this NASA study dosn't use superconducting coil, but a Rotating Magnetic Field (RMF) to generate a fully ionized high temperature magnetized plasma, that form a shield in front of the spaceship increasing drag.
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/early_s … rtley.html
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pnwm … _final.pdf
If it works, a magnetoshell may be very interesting, because drag may be increased or reduced simply tuning the magnetic field, resulting less critical entry angles and very easy and safe aerocapture maneuvers, even in planets with high atmospheric variability like Mars.
P.S.
I ask myself if such device can be also used douring the trip as a cosmic ray deflector like Winglee's mini-magnetospere.
Last edited by Quaoar (2014-05-02 15:46:17)
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#2 2014-05-01 13:28:08
Re: Plasma magnetoshell areocapture and entry system
This idea gets kicked around sometimes, and I really do think it's a good one. It should even be theoretically possible to take the energy of the impinging particles and actually use it to generate the power for the magnetic field
-Josh
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#3 2014-05-01 13:46:52
- RobertDyck
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Re: Plasma magnetoshell areocapture and entry system
One advantage of teh mini-magnetosphere is that it's so big. It extends kilometres from the spacecraft. It blocks most solar wind, but not strong enough to block cosmic rays. But it extends so far from the craft that cosmic rays only need be deflected a little to miss.
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#4 2014-05-01 13:50:38
- RobertDyck
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- From: Winnipeg, Canada
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Re: Plasma magnetoshell areocapture and entry system
Where was it? Someone posted a link for a magnetic parachute. The idea was a magnetic device extended on a cable behind the capsule or shuttle. It only operates during thermal phase of atmospheric entry. Plasma gets captured by the magnetic coil, inflating to create drag. This interacts with plasma in the wake of the spacecraft, creating drag. The objective was not to replace a heat shield, but to allow a large heavy vehicle to enter a thin atmosphere such as Mars.
::Edit:: Found it.
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?pid=116552
Last edited by RobertDyck (2014-05-01 13:56:35)
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