IN-ORBIT ACCELERATORS
Propelling the expansion of life and our economies beyond Earth
In-orbit accelerators are crucial to life's sustainability beyond Earth. They provide the means to propel spacecraft faster, farther, and more cost-effectively. They are enablers of interstellar travel, resource acquisition, and the potential colonisation of distant worlds, thus ensuring the continuity and expansion of life in the observable universe.
Mass Drivers: Mass drivers, or electromagnetic catapults, use electromagnetic acceleration (similar to that in a railgun or coilgun) to hurl payloads into space or across the solar system.
Space Tethers: Long, thin structures that can change a spacecraft's momentum and orbit without the need for propellant. This can be achieved through various methods including momentum exchange and electrodynamic tethers.
Rotovators: A type of space tether that rotates as it orbits a planet. A spacecraft would dock with the rotovator when it is closest to the planet, then be flung off at high speed when the rotovator swings back out.
Gravity Assist or Slingshot: A technique that uses the gravity of a planet or moon to accelerate a spacecraft and change its trajectory. This has been used in many missions, such as the Voyager and Galileo probes.
Solar Sail Beacons: Fixed installations that use powerful lasers to push solar sails on spacecraft, providing propulsion without the need for the spacecraft to carry fuel.
Magnetic Launchers: Similar to mass drivers, but use a series of magnets to accelerate a spacecraft along a track.
Orbital Rings: A theoretical megastructure involving a giant ring in low Earth orbit, spinning at above orbital speed. A space elevator could lift payloads to the ring, which would then be accelerated to interplanetary speeds.
Launch Loop: A proposed structure for launching objects into space. It consists of a sheath enclosing a rotor that is spun up to high speeds; the rotor lifts off the Earth and is held up by the momentum of the sheath. A payload is accelerated along the loop and then released into space.
Beam-Powered Propulsion Stations: Stations that transmit power via microwave or laser beams to spacecraft, which convert the energy into thrust.
Orbital Tethers with Magnetic Propulsion: These are essentially long cables in orbit that use magnetic fields to generate thrust, transferring momentum to the spacecraft as it passes by.
Solar Wind Harnessing Stations: Deployed structures that can capture and redirect solar wind particles, providing a push to spacecraft with appropriate sails or shields.
Momentum Exchange Electrodynamic Reboost (MXER) Tethers: A tether concept where a rotating tether catches a payload and throws it to a higher speed or altitude.
Asteroid Slingshot: Using the gravity of an asteroid to provide a slingshot effect similar to gravity assist, but with the added benefit that the asteroid's course and speed could potentially be manipulated.
Pneumatic Launch Systems: These are systems where spacecraft are accelerated in a tube with compressed gas or steam before being released into space.
Cyclotron Resonance Accelerators: These would use electromagnetic fields to accelerate charged particles, potentially propelling a spacecraft.
Space Fountains: These are theoretical structures where a stream of pellets in a semi-closed loop are directed upwards; the reaction force can be used to support a platform on the ground, from which spacecraft could be launched.
Planetary Ring Accelerator: A large-scale megastructure, similar to an orbital ring but located around a planet or moon, allowing spacecraft to dock and use the ring's momentum to gain speed.
Lightcraft Launch Systems: Ground-based lasers woud heat air or propellant to create a plasma, producing thrust to lift the spacecraft into orbit.