To test their idea, the researchers put a test satellite into a vacuum chamber at SUNY Binghamton and then shot charged ions at the spacecraft, simulating conditions in outer space. Just because it doesn't use chemical propellants doesn't mean the satellite is fuel-less. Radioactive material, such as Americium 241, which emits charged particles, or electricity from solar panels or a battery, would be necessary to maintain the satellite's charge. As the charged ions flowed around the test satellite, its charged particles were whipped off "like wet paint off an aircraft," said Peck. Meanwhile different electrical charges built up on the two metals used in the satellite, eventually causing an electrical arc to blow off the solder. More recent tests of solder-less satellites at the University of Michigan have been successful, said Peck. Not everyone thinks the new propulsion system will fly though. "I don't think this is going to make satellite designers very excited," said Manuel Martinez-Sanchez, Director of the Space Propulsion Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Such a technology could be useful in changing satellite orbit, which doesn't require an energy change, said Martinez-Sanchez, but not for propelling a satellite. The only real test of a tiny satellite magnetic propulsion system will be an actual flight in outer space. Peck and his colleagues hope to perform a Sputnik-style test in a few years, where a small radio beep from space would signal success. Related Links: |
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