Recent development of intake devices for atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system
Introduction
Satellites play the significant role in human activities, including global positioning, network interconnection, Earth observation, scientific experiment and so on [1]. According to the satellite database from Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) [2] to the date of September in 2021, the number of satellites currently operating at orbit is large and increases rapidly. However, the launch cost of a satellite is huge, and the space technology still needs to advance such as lower cost, smaller satellite and operation in swarms [3]. Especially for the satellite constellations, the large number of satellites requires the higher performance propulsion system to maintain orbit or control attitude [4]. Compared to the chemical propulsion, the electric propulsion (EP) technology is a better choice for satellites, which provides significant advantages due to its higher power density [5]. In recent years, the plasma-based space electric propulsion technologies have developed a lot [6], including hall thruster, ion thruster, electrodeless thruster and so on. These electric propulsion products use solid, liquid or gas propellant to generate plasma and thrust under the excitation of electromagnetic field. In order to reduce the operation cost furtherly, researches focus on the iodine propellant for electric propulsion satellite in recent years [7,8] due to its lower ionization energy and lower price. Another novel exploration for electric propulsion is using atmospheric particles as propellant, which called atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) technology.
As shown in Fig. 1(a), the number of satellites operate at the high-altitude orbit is large, but there are almost no satellites working at very low Earth orbit (VLEO), especially for orbit below 250 km. Therefore, developing the ultra-low Earth orbit resources have become a new field for researchers to expand the operation range of spacecraft (S/C), enhance the mission capability. The lower Earth orbit has its unique advantages for satellites [9]: The lower operation altitude means the lower launch costs, higher observation accuracy, less communication losses, safer operation environment, etc. At the same time, the operation of S/C at VLEO also faces kinds of challenges and difficulties [10]: Affected by the rarefied atmosphere, the S/Cs usually face larger aerodynamic drag at lower orbit; Difficulties in supplying of propellant also limit the lifetime of S/Cs; The atomic oxygen erosion can interact with coatings of S/Cs and degrade their performance. In order to solve these problems, the concept of ABEP is proposed.
As shown in Fig. 1(b), a typical ABEP system is mainly composed of intake device and electric thruster [11,12]. The rarefied atmospheric particles against the flight direction are captured by intake device, which are provided to electric thruster as the propellant. In order to generate thrust to compensate the larger aerodynamic drag at the VLEO, the capture performance of intake device must be improved to obtain sufficient propellant. Compared to the electric thruster that has developed for several decades, intake device is still considered as a novel subsystem of S/C for researchers. Recent success of the low-orbit Gravity field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) mission [13] has furtherly attracted the interest of researchers in propellant capture technology. Given the mounting interest, this comprehensive review presents the current state of intake device development, and provides the avenues of continued research.
The basic knowledge to study intake device is introduced in next Section, including atmosphere models and flow physics. It describes atmospheric particles composition, density distribution, horizon wind data, and the interaction mechanism between intake surface and atmospheric flow. Then, the comprehensive development status of intake device is presented in Section 3, which is involved different universities and research institutes. The development status of intake devices is summarized in Section 4 to understand the intake classifications, including key types, schematic solution, performance comparisons etc. The last Section proposes some new ideas for the continued work, and it can provide guidance and development suggestions for researchers in this field.
Section snippets
Basic knowledge
Before studying the atmospheric particles capture device, i.e., intake device, the characteristics of the VLEO atmosphere and corresponding flow physics need to be understanded firstly. The performance of ABEP system will be influenced by the characteristics of the atmospheric gas, including its composition, density, temperature, and so on. In addition, the atmosphere is considered as the rarefied flow, so the rule of the interaction between gas and body is different with the classical
Intake device of ABEP system
The utilization of ambient gas as a propellant for low earth orbit electric propulsion has been studied in last century [38]. Recent publication [39] also proved the necessity of intake device for the application of ABEP system. An air-intake device is used to capture the atmospheric particles, compress them and drive them into the electric thruster. These particles are usually travelling at a high speed against the flight direction of S/Cs. Thus, the intake device needs to reduce the backflow,
Development status of intake device
According to the previous studies, the intake device mainly includes two types, active device and passive device, respectively. As shown in Fig. 15, an active intake device usually uses additional pumps to help the collection and compression of atmospheric particles. A passive intake device usually captures particles through its special configurations.
To summarize the main configurations and the corresponding performance, a comparative analysis of different intake designs is listed in Table 2,
Future work and challenges
Given the great benefits and increasing interest of ABEP system, this paper provides a clear development status of intake device (the unique component) for ABEP system, including the operation environment modelling, corresponding basic flow physic and a detail review of intake device developed by different universities and institutes. Starting with the working of JAXA, it firstly proposes the integral ABIE concept containing a ring-type intake device, while the effective inlet area is too low
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
Peng Zheng would like to thank Mengjie Zhao for her support.
References (90)
- et al.
A review of applications of satellite earth observation data for global societal benefit and stewardship of planet earth
Space Pol.
(2016) - et al.
The benefits of very low earth orbit for earth observation missions
Prog Aerosp Sci
(2020) - et al.
RF helicon-based inductive plasma thruster (IPT) design for an atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system (ABEP)
Acta Astronaut.
(2020) - et al.
Empirical wind model for the upper, middle and lower atmosphere
J. Atmos. Terr. Phys.
(1996) - et al.
A review of gas-surface interaction models for orbital aerodynamics applications
Prog. Aerosp. Sci.
(2020) - et al.
Spacecraft drag modelling
Prog. Aerosp. Sci.
(2014) - et al.
Simulation investigation of inductively coupled plasma generator for atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system
Acta Astronaut.
(2021) - et al.
A review of research in low earth orbit propellant collection
Prog. Aerosp. Sci.
(2015) - et al.
Design and analysis of vacuum air-intake device used in air-breathing electric propulsion
Vacuum
(2015) - et al.
Intake design for an atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system (ABEP)
Acta Astronaut.
(2021)
Integrated optimization of trajectories and layout parameters of spacecraft with air-breathing electric propulsion
Acta Astronaut.
Design and numerical investigation on the intake of atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion
Acta Astronaut.
RF helicon-based inductive plasma thruster (IPT) design for an atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system (ABEP)
Acta Astronaut.
System analysis and test-bed for an atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system using an inductive plasma thruster
Acta Astronaut.
Union of concerned Scientists satellite database
Explore space using swarms of tiny satellites
Nature
Hopes and concerns for astronomy of satellite constellations
Nat. Astron.
Electric propulsion for satellites and spacecraft: established technologies and novel approaches
Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.
Perspectives, frontiers, and new horizons for plasma-based space electric propulsion
Phys. Plasmas
In-orbit demonstration of an iodine electric propulsion system
Nature
Iodine powers low-cost engines for satellites
Nature
Very low earth orbit mission concepts for earth observation: benefits and challenges
A comprehensive review of atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion systems
Int J Aerospace Eng
Low orbit operations of ESA's gravity mission GOCE
European Cooperation for Space Standardization Space Environment, ECSS-E-ST-10-04c
A global thermospheric model based on mass spectrometer and incoherent scatter data MSIS 2. Composition
J. Geophys. Res.
A global thermospheric model based on mass spectrometer and incoherent scatter data MSIS 1. Density and temperatur
J. Geophys. Res.
A revised thermospheric model based on mass spectrometer and incoherent scatter data: MSIS-83
J. Geophys. Res.: Space Phys.
MSIS-86 Thermospheric mode
J. Geophys. Res.: Space Phys.
Extension of the MSIS thermosphere model in the middle and lower atmosphere
J. Geophys. Res.: Space Phys.
NRLMSISE-00 empirical model of the atmosphere: statistical comparisons and scientific issues
J. Geophys. Res.: Space Phys.
NRLMSISE-00 atmosphere model
A new empirical thermospheric density model JB2008 using new solar and geomagnetic indices
A new empirical thermospheric density model JB2006 using new solar indices
Space environment technologies JB2008
Empirical global model of upper thermosphere winds based on atmosphere and dynamics explorer satellite data
J. Geophys. Res.: Space Phys.
Revised global model of thermosphere winds using satellite and ground-based observations
J. Geophys. Res.: Space Phys.
An empirical model of the Earth's horizontal wind fields: HWM07
J. Geophys. Res.: Space Phys.
An update to the Horizontal Wind Model (HWM): the quiet time thermosphere
Earth Space Sci.
Horizontal wind model (HWM)
Molecular Gas Dynamics and the Direct Simulation of Gas Flows
On stresses in rarified gases arising from inequalities of temperature
Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond.
Rarefied Gas Dynamics Fundamentals, Simulations and Micro Flows
System Analysis and Test Bed for an Air-Breathing Electric Propulsion System
Utilization of Ambient Gas as a Propellant for Low Earth Orbit Electric Propulsion
Cited by (13)
Research and development of aerospace vehicles with air breathing electric propulsion: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow
2023, Progress in Aerospace SciencesCitation Excerpt :to evaluate ultimate maneuverability of SC with ABEP to change its orbit. In recent years, quite a lot of very interesting reviews [11,15–18] have appeared on various aspects of ABEP research and development. Therefore, in this review, the authors have tried to highlight those important aspects and results that have not been fully disclosed in these publications.
Design and optimisation of a passive Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) intake
2023, Acta AstronauticaCitation Excerpt :In fact, while several ABEP concepts have been investigated for radio frequency ion thrusters (RIT) [5–7], Hall-effect thrusters (HET) [8–12] and electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) thrusters [13–16], the electrodeless and gridless design of the IPT has shown promising results as the corrosion due to atomic oxygen collisions is removed since no component is in direct contact with the plasma [17]. The development of ABEP intakes has been progressively developing with the increasing interest for mission enhancement in VLEO [19,20]. For the purpose of this work, the passive designs based on fully diffuse scattering materials are retrieved and briefly reviewed.
Performance study of intake device for atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion
2024, AIP Conference Proceedings