Concept analysis of a distributed thrust system, a novel inductive propulsion method using high energy pulse solenoids in satellite swarms for reusable interorbital freight transport

To date only single vehicle thrust designs have been considered for propulsion in space, however there is no limitation preventing multivehicle distributed thrust application designs if a rigid structure can be constructed electromagnetically. By considering the regularity of planetary orbits and distance between orbital paths, a location in space can be targeted for next orbit arrival of a shipping container propelled on an intercepting vector that is a result of inductive propulsion vector combination. This concept is achieved with Nb 3 Sn high energy pulse solenoids that enable a square pyramidal swarm of satellites to decompose the intercepting orbital transfer vector and propel a 20 tonne steel shipping container towards a destination swarm. This paper is a thought experiment with first pass mechanical analysis that establishes a validity algorithm then concludes that the proposed yoked solenoid design is fit for purpose. Two factors are noted as key variances that must be investigated in further research with numerical modelling tools before the proposed design can be considered fully functional.