Phys.org December 6, 2022
Inspired by the dynamic soaring maneuvers performed by sea birds and gliders in which differences in wind speed are exploited to gain velocity, an international team of researchers (Canada, USA – industry) proposed a technique in which a lift-generating spacecraft circles between regions of the heliosphere that have different wind speeds, gaining energy in the process without the use of propellant and only modest onboard power requirements. Detailed models of the spacecraft trajectory were developed to predict the potential velocity gains and the maximum velocity that might be achieved in terms of the lift-to-drag ratio of the vehicle. In the proposed lift-generating mechanism power is extracted from the flow over the vehicle in the flight direction and then used to accelerate the surrounding medium. They showed that large values of lift-to-drag ratio are shown to be possible. A conceptual mission was defined in which dynamic soaring was performed on the termination shock of the heliosphere, enabling a spacecraft to reach speeds approaching 2% of c within two and a half years of launch without the expenditure of propellant. The technique may comprise the first stage for a multistage mission to achieve true interstellar flight to other solar systems…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
The trajectory of a vehicle performing dynamic soaring in wind shear on the slow and fast solar wind. Credit: Space Technol., 28 November 2022, Sec. Space PropulsionÂ