MagBeam is the name given to anion propulsion system forspace travel initially proposed by Professor Robert Winglee[1] of the Earth and Space Sciences Department at theUniversity of Washington for the October 2004 meeting of theNIAC.[2] MagBeam is different from a traditionalelectrostatic ion thruster in several ways, the primary one being that instead of the fuel and propulsion system being part of the payload craft, they are instead located on a platform held inorbit. It has also been suggested that the technology could be used to reduce the amount ofspace debris in orbit around Earth.
MagBeam propulsion uses aheliconplasma source to produce a plasma beam. A helicon drive consists of aquartz tube wrapped in aradio antenna, into which a gas such asargon orxenon is injected. RF currents pass through the antenna creating a rapid variation of the electric field, ionizing the gas. The ionized gas is accelerated by a magnetic field to produce thrust. The helicon drive produces a tight beam of ions as themagnetic field that accelerates them continuously expands with the plasma beam keeping them focused. This ion beam is used to push a payload which is equipped with a small amount of gas forpropellant such as argon or xenon, a power source and a set ofelectromagnets to produce a mini-magnetospheremagnetic sail. The gas propellant is ejected into the plasma beam being directed at the craft which heats and ionizes it.
The electromagnets repel this ionized gas imparting thrust upon the payload. This results in an acceleration of around 1 ms−2,[citation needed] much faster than traditional ion propulsion systems. This amount of acceleration would make it possible to make a trip toMars in as little as 50 days, reaching speeds as high as 20 km/s. The deceleration is accomplished by having another platform at the other end of the journey directing a plasma beam at the payload. By eliminating the mass of the propulsion system from the payload the MagBeam system allows for much faster acceleration and higher top speeds than conventional propulsion systems mounted on the payload. One problem with the system is the need for a sufficiently dense power-source, with a massive battery bank being proposed for an Earth-Mars Mag-Beam facility massing some 3,000 tons.
The system proposed by Winglee would allow a round-trip from Earth toMars in 90 days, with 11 days stop-over at Mars.[3]
A similar system for use of a particle beam to push a mini-magnetosphere magnetic sail was proposed byGeoffrey A. Landis in 2001 as a possible propulsion system forinterstellar travel.[4]
Winglee has also proposed that the technology could be used to help clearspace debris in Earth orbit by pushing items of debris out of orbit towards the atmosphere where they could burn up safely.[5]
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