Representatives of the UK-based Magdrive company said creation of a satellite, the plant is capable of processing solid metal into fuel for its own needs.
The startup’s founders say that one day their development could be used to cleaning the Earth’s orbit from space debris. The company has developed a propulsion system called Warlock. The system operates on the principle of solid metal ionization, unlike electric motors that generate current through the ionization of pressurized gas.
«A chemical engine has very high thrust, but its efficiency — or miles per gallon, if you will — is very low. Modern electric powertrains, on the other hand, have the exact opposite characteristics. They have very low thrust, but excellent efficiency, excellent miles per gallon. We are creating the first system of its kind that has the best of both worlds. It’s electric traction, but it has a significant increase in thrust with a decrease in volume and weight», — said Magdrive founder Mark Stokes.
Currently, the system developed by the startup capable of using copper as an energy source, but it is not yet suitable for reuse. The company expects to eventually use decommissioned satellites and other space debris as fuel. In this case, an additional advantage would be a significant reduction in the weight of the spacecraft, which would not need to carry additional fuel tanks into space.
According to Stokes, this will make space launches much more cost-effective.
«Decommissioned satellites are uncontrollable and often topple over, making them extremely difficult to locate. To capture and secure them requires sophisticated maneuvering, and this technology is still in its infancy», — says Min Kwan Kim, associate professor of astronautics at the University of Southampton.
Magdrive expects to present the first prototype of its own system in June this year. Instead of use of space debris During the presentation, the prototype will ionize solid metal.
«We are creating a standardized piece of hardware that can go on board any satellite — that is, virtually anyone in the entire space industry. This includes a variety of applications, from Earth observation to satellite maintenance and communications», — added Mark Stokes.
However, even this is not an ideal solution. Due to the possibility of surface contamination, the overall performance of the system can quickly deteriorate. The atomic crystal structure of the metal itself can also be altered, which can also affect its effectiveness as a fuel.
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