Propulsive Force in Electric Solar Sails for Missions in the Heliosphere

An electric solar sail (E-sail) is a recent propulsion technology concept capable of reaching the edge of the Heliosphere. An E-sail consists of a set of bare tethers at high positive/negative bias capable of deflecting solar wind protons to produce thrust. The propulsive force calculation for a single tether was focused on outer planet missions, considering the characteristic plasma ambient at 1 astronomical unit. However, both ion and electron temperature and plasma density cover a wide range of values within the Heliosphere. Propulsive forces are determined here for the solar wind plasma within the entire Heliosphere. Results show that propulsive forces increase with ion temperature, whereas decrease with electron temperature. In addition, propulsive forces do increase with plasma density despite the sheath decreases.