Experimental Study and Optimization of HTS Bulk Levitation Unit for Launch Assist

Magnetic levitation and propulsion has been viewed as a safe, reliable, and inexpensive launch assist for sending small payloads into orbit. In order to investigate the feasibility of HTS bulk levitation system for the purpose, an experimental setup was designed and constructed to study the performance of the lifting body above permanent magnet (PM) guideway. The measurements of the levitation force and guidance force were carried out in zero-field-cooled and field-cooled modes for different topologies of HTS bulk arrangements and PM guideway configurations. The results were analyzed with computational simulations. An optimal design was discussed for the levitation system for launch assist