by Space is overcrowded – people have brought over 20,000 satellites into orbit since the beginning of space age, and there are plans to start thousands in the next few years.
Some of these satellites have already been burned in the atmosphere or fallen back to earth, often into the ocean, but more than 13,000 are still up there. About a fifth are inactive and simply circle as space waste. Hundreds of these dead satellites have come together in recent decades to create millions of splinter pieces.
This creates a constant risk of collision for active satellites and for the international space station – a problem that is so serious that several surveillance networks around the world observe thousands of larger objects in order to move the spaceship out of the way if necessary.
The increasing threat from space residues requires both higher maneuverability in orbit and a reduction in the amount of waste. The British Startup Magdrive claims that both can help with a new drive system for spaceships, which later brings into space for the first time this year and is heated by solid metal.
“We wanted to build something that really moves the needle for mankind in the space industry and let the leaders’ sprouts climb on a space civilization,” says Mark Stokes, who founded Magdrive in 2019.
Magdrive works on three versions of his space representatives, and because they run on solid metal, one day they can even be collected directly in orbit by room writers to make it from the threat to the fuel source.
“Best of both worlds”
Satellites need drive systems for several reasons, including the conversion to another orbit to compensate for the atmospheric air resistance, which would destabilize orbit in order to avoid debris and finally deactivate themselves.
The majority of satellite drive systems are currently either chemically or electrically, but according to Stokes, both disadvantages have: “The chemical drive has a very high thrust, but its efficiency – or its miles per gallon, if you want – is very bad,” he says. “On the other hand, electrical drive systems now have the opposite properties.
The greatest ambitions of mankind for space economy, including asteroid reduction, large satellite constellations and building space stations in orbit, are initially out of the range because these drive systems require a compromise between electricity and efficiency-a decision that must be made before the satellite has been introduced.
“We build up the first system of its kind that has the best of both worlds,” he adds. “It is electrical drive, but it has a size improvement in the thrust with a size of volume and mass.”
The first incarnation of the Magdrive system – named as a witch champion – will be launched in the orbit in June 2025. It works with electricity with onboard solar modules, just like current electrical drive systems. While current electrical systems use the performance to ionize or detonate, Magrive – often uses toxic chemicals called hydrazine, solid metal.
“This has many advantages that you can imagine,” says Stokes. Metal is very tight, which means that it takes less space on board than a tank with die gas. This would make life easier for the satellite manufacturers who are considered under pressure meetings, since they are difficult to work and can cause explosions if they are broken while the metal is inert and does not suffer any breakdown over time. At the moment Magdrive is using copper that has been selected because it is relatively cheap and widespread, although every metal would do the job according to Stokes.
After detonation, the metal is converted into extremely hot and poet plasma or electrically charged gas. “What you get is this highly energetic copper plasma that leaves the back of the engine”.
The impression of an artist from the Magdrive Warlock system, which is to start space for the first time since 2025. – Magdrive
Driven by garbage?
At the moment the system is not fuelable. In the future, however, Stokes believes that the system could preserve its fuel from existing space waste by harvesting dead satellites for metal to use as a drift – although this plan is so far only hypothetical. “The advantage of this is that we can close the loop through the new space age economy by using resources that are already available,” says Stokes.
That would do Magrive, adds Stokes, the only drive system that does not have to take its fuel with it every time. “At the moment, every satellite has to bring their fuel off the earth, and it is as if you are building a new train every time you leave the train station,” he says.
The company is aiming for its first commercial commitment by next year and is aimed at customers with a variety of needs: “We build a standardized piece of hardware that can fit on board every satellite – pretty much everyone in the entire space industry,” explains Stokes. “This includes a variety of different applications, from the observation of earth to satellite maintenance to communication,” he says and can be used on satellites that weigh everything from 10 kilograms of up to 400 kilograms (880 pounds).
Significant challenges
According to Minkwan Kim, an extraordinary professor of astronautics at the University of Southampton, in Great Britain, which was involved in research projects and cooperation with Magdrive, the use of solid metal fuel compared to gas or liquid carriers offers simplified storage and handling. It enables a simple design that is particularly suitable for mass production and creates a practical path to future mega constellations that require a large-scale satellite production.
“However, the use of metal tissors is a significant challenge: surface contamination, especially for solar collectors and optical systems,” he adds. Since metal plasma is generated during operation, it can easily put on surfaces, which may affect the total output of the spacecraft.
Stokes says that the metal fuel is completely consumed in the Magdrive system during the reaction, but then he recombinates to what he calls “dispersed inert material”, which, due to the starting speed of the particles, has only a small risk that they are contaminated near surfaces near the surfaces, “nothing to sit through other components or other satellites.”
Kim ensures reliable and consistent thrust generation, represents a further challenge, especially for precise maneuvering. The heating and cooling cycles, which the metal fuel goes through during the drawer, can change its nuclear crystal structure and influence its performance as a bivide. In order to maintain an even push output, a precise monitoring and control system would be required, which increases the system complexity.
Magdrive works on three versions of his engines, and the most advanced, the Super Magrive is designed so that it is fuelable. – David Fisher / Magdrive
According to Kim, Kim is theoretically possible with regard to the use of space drives as fuel, but there are considerable technical and regulatory challenges. The first thing is that the Space waste may appear like a free resource, the UN World Cup contract (East) determines that ownership of objects started in space remains unchanged, even if they become dirt. This means that the original owner’s permission is required before recycling a satellite. In addition, some satellites contain sensitive data or proprietary technologies, which means that the owners are reluctant to receive access. Finally, the start -Country is responsible for all incidents caused by a recycled satellite and add another level of legal complexity.
Then there are practical problems, says Kim: “Disappointed satellites are uncontrollable and often stumbling, which makes it extremely difficult to call up.
“As a result, it is unlikely that it is suitable for non-specific maneuvers like deorbing for non-specific maneuvers, but it is unlikely that it is profitable for the drive of high precision.”
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