Advances in CubeSat Sails and Tethers (2nd Edition)

Dear Colleagues,

The size and propulsion of spacecraft are major limiting factors in the design of space missions. Chemical and electric propulsion require the spacecraft size to be several orders of magnitude larger than CubeSats. The CubeSat standard in conjunction with the New Space movement has revolutionized the space industry and scientific exploration. CubeSats consist of one or multiple 10 × 10 × 10 cm units stacked together in order to achieve the desired mission objectives. With a typical CubeSat mass in the range of 1–10 kg, their propellant storage capabilities are extremely limited, if available at all.

Propellantless propulsion systems employ an external force to propel the spacecraft, instead of an on-board propellant. This force can be photon pressure and solar wind originating from the Sun, as well as the magnetic field originating from a planet’s core or atmospheric particles dragging the spacecraft to a lower altitude. We can employ physical lightsails to reflect photons and travel the solar system. A similar dragsail can be used in low Earth orbit (LEO) for the mitigation of orbital debris during deorbiting. Virtual electromagnetic sails can also be generated: the electric sail deflects solar wind particles using the Coulomb drag force to travel sunward and away from the star; electrodynamic tethers use Lorentz force to increase and lower a satellite’s altitude; and the plasma brake employs the Coulomb drag interaction with the ionosphere for deorbiting. We invite you to submit papers on topics covering CubeSat sails and tethers, and their fundamental aspects, simulations, designs, optimization, operations, applications in Earth orbit and deep space, and in-orbit results.

Dr. Pekka Janhunen
Dr. Andris Slavinskis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• propellantless CubeSat propulsion
• lightsails (photon pressure propulsion) and dragsails (atmospheric drag)
• electric solar wind sail and plasma brake (Coulomb drag propulsion)
• electrodynamics tethers (Lorentz force propulsion)
• earth orbit as well as interplanetary CubeSats
• orbital debris
• on-board orbit and attitude control

• Advances in CubeSat Sails and Tethers in Aerospace (12 articles)