Small satellites will soon be able to ‘green’ their space shuttles, this is all thanks to the innovative High Delta-V Experiment ( HiDVE) program at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
If you are wondering what is so different about this program, well, the program aims within the next year or so to complete a ground demonstration of an unconventional propulsion system that uses solar energy to produce enough thrust to push a 10-15 kilogram satellite into a new orbit!
If you are thinking this is the first such attempt in solar thermal propulsion, then it is not so – this concept dates back to the 1960s but it is only now that the focus is on large systems capable of powering vehicles the size of the space shuttle or larger.
Do you know all that a solar thermal rocket has to carry is a means of capturing solar energy, such as concentrators and mirrors? In order to produce the thrust, the propellant is fed through a conventional rocket nozzle. The engine thrust is directly related to the surface area of the solar collector and to the local intensity of the solar radiation.
I hope the HiDVE program achieves success early, because apart from being extremely eco-friendly it is a high-efficiency low-thrust system that can be refueled with very easily.
Via: Futurenews
