Practical Application of Electric Propulsion Systems for the Regular Flights to the Asteroid Psyche
摘要
The project of a space train “Asteroidplane” for the regular delivery of astronauts onto the surface of space bodies located in the asteroid belt is being considered. The asteroidplane is formed in the circumterrestrial orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) from three electric rockets of the ER-7 type with electric rocket engines of the MARS type, which working substance is nitrogen, and the source of electricity is a semiconductor solar battery made of gallium arsenide. A new design solution for the asteroidplane in the presence of two takeoff and landing capsules will allow regularly delivering 6 astronauts to the surface of any asteroid and searching for minerals there. The calculations have shown that the developed optimal trajectory of the asteroidplane movement between the orbit of the Earth and the orbit of the asteroid Psyche will allow us to reach the asteroid Psyche in 55 days at the maximum speed of the asteroidplane of 200 km/s.