Solar Thruster Sailor (STS) - Index -


- © Frank Ellinghaus -
NEW on July 3/2007 POSTER (4.4 MB, pdf-format, printout = 80 x 120 cm)
of RingCraft Solar Sail, Solar Sail Launch System and fuelless attitude control through "Roller Reefing".
How to use this site? new on March 26/2006 in red colour Fig.16 Mobile Thruster Unit - Fig.18 Fuelless Steering - Fig.19-21d Solar Sail Launch System

I N D E X - G E R M A N


POST & AUTHOR & Vision
STS - Solar Thruster Sailor
RSS - Ring Segment System LTH - Launcher Transport Head EFO - Experimental Flying Object RSC - Rotational Slingshot Catapult
L I N K S ENGLISH

Index-Page of STS, the Solar-Thruster-Sailor Site, featuring lightweight spacecrafts based on Outer Thruster Rings which carry mostly electric low thrust thrusters (ion or hall for instance) and can take also and at the same time a solar sail, a payload carrying net and a docking and payload handling station in form of an Inner Ring.

This new ring in ring bending / stringing construction for spacecrafts doesn't need masts, booms or struts, so all hassles associated with such breaking prone construction details are gone. Bending with CNT (Carbon Nanotube) thread allows extremely lightweight structures which also are tough because of the carbon nanotube fibers tensile strength while only weighting 1.3 g/ccm.

The Inner Ring Docking and Payload handling station allows to take in swarms of spacecrafts, flying containers or other objects making authomatic docking and yet good maneuvering available. Carrier space crafts and solar sail / lander combinations for asteroid exploration and mining are my most favored applications.


STS - the Solar-Thruster-Sailor, a solar sail with thruster ring,
WST - the Winch Space Tug to hold objects tight in it's center with the help of winches on the Inner Ring.
CST - the Catcher Space Tug using a net to catch objects and unloding them through pushing into the wished direction.
FSB - the Flying Space Bag to bag in asteroidal or in space collected materials.
MoPS - the Mobile Power Station - a space power plant which can move like a space craft and change applications through replacing it's central dockable beaming / energy distribution unit. Besides energy production it could mainly serve as a smelting unit to smelt materials on asteroids or placed in free space for space processing.

EFO - an Experimental Flying Object, a gyroscopic craft using a "speed lever" for physical studies about the theorie of relativity and rotational effects,
RSC - the Rotational Slingshot Catapult, a huge rotating ring also using a "speed lever" to gain rotational speed and shoot the payload onto direction to it's destination.

In Oct. 2002 ESA started a 50 million-euro intiative DevILS to develop intelligent, lightweight spacecraft systems that ESA can use on future missions. That is just what the spacecraft (STS and RSS) featured on this site could deliver - structures to build up a reusable cheap in space transport infrastructure.



Solar Thruster Sailor (STS) --- STS- German Page
A solar sail held inside of a thruster ring with belts or CNT stringing, highly navigable and able to reach highest speeds in space using photon pressure as main propulsion.
The thrusters serve as steering and second option propulsion devices, for instance for landing on moons or asteroids and to start from there again ...

It is also a disc - like a Flying saucer -, but it has no septum, so it is not exactly the structure we would envisage as an UFO. Perhaps we should call it KFO (Known Flying Object).

main - Outer Ring - Inner Ring - comparison - mass - Stringing Net - advantages - Fig.1 - thruster - Fig.2a-2b - Fig.2c - Fig.2d - Fig.3a-3b - Fig.4a-4c - Fig.5 - Mini STS - Mission Proposal - Micro STS


Ring Segment System (RSS) --- RSS - German Page
A Spacecraft Building System, able to build large space structures in a fast and simple way. Such structure could solve some major problems of manned space travel. For instance room deficiency and missing gravity.

Imagine a large disc of orders of square-kilometers made of a ring from pipes with strong carbon belts stretched in between. This disc can carry the payload (for example rooms, space stations, hotels, solar cells, greenhouses, fabrication facilities ... ) on both sides without size limitation.

When rotating, just place the astronauts or inhabitants rooms on a point of the disc with the appropriate gravity. ...

So you think this disc-idea is as old as Methusalem? Think twice! -
It is not a gigantic space-craft with walls, just a large ring from pipes and some belts! With this concept it is possible to generate such structures fast, with todays technic and with excellent value for the money.



Launcher Transport Head (LTH) --- LTH - German Page
How do we get it into space?
The Answer: A head for the launcher tip similar to the ASAP ring for the Ariane V rocket which makes it possible to transport the RSS-pipes (the ring segments of the Solar Thruster Sailor are also made from pipes) Outside of the Launcher - were they are needed when mounted.


Experimental Flying Object (EFO) --- EFO - German Page
Space craft with a thruster ring of more than 10000 m diameter. The thrusters mounted at the center of the disc provide an theoretical speed lever of 10000 or more. If we hadn�t the theory of relativity this craft could spin as fast that it's outer points reach or pass light speed.
The EFO is also a gigantic gyroscope as well as an flywheel, bringing rotational speed and size, orders of magnitude above all gyroscopic devices. With the absence of friction this is an ideal invention for rotational studies were concentrating on rotational and gravitational forces is possible.


Rotational Slingshot Catapult (RSC) --- RSC - German Page

A thruster powered ring which is able to shoot spacecraft and material with high speeds through space. A space transporter which doesn't leave his place when transporting.

catapult propulsion - speed lever - force lever - Mini STS - Mission Proposal - Micro STS - Fig. 7


Thruster Ring Spacecraft as a Space Tug

a space craft which would serve as a space tug. It's light weight outer ring is driven by electric thrusters ( ion or hall for instance ). Inside a thruster ring is a net placed which serves as a device to "catch" space debris for cleaning orbital space from hubris or to enhance the orbit of satellites. It is also thought to catch materials throwed through a mass driver for instance from the moon to moon orbit. Even deflecting asteroids or comets should be possible with this design.



Thruster Ring Spacecraft as Flying Space Bag

A space craft which would serve to collect and transport materials in space for instance helping transport materials recovered at asteroids.



MoPS a space based mobile power plant as a Solar Power Station ( SPS )


MoPS could deliver as well beamed energy were needed or be used as a smelting unit on asteroids or for space processing in free space.



Fig's
Fig.1 - Fig.2a-2b - Fig.2c - Fig.2d - Fig.3a-3b - Fig.4a-4c - Fig.5 - Fig.6 - Fig.7 - Inner Ring - Flying Ring - Fig.8 - Fig.8a - Fig.8b - Fig.9 - Fig.9a - Fig.10 - Fig.11 - Fig.10 - Fig.11 - Fig.13 - Fig.14-15 - Fig.16 Mobile Thruster Unit - Fig.17 - Fig.18 Fuelless Steering - Fig.19-21d Solar Sail Launch System

This are the figures used for the patent application.



Post & Author & Vision
communication with the author, what the author want�s to say about himself, an optimistic vision

how to use this site - posting - the author - data safety? - vision




I N D E X - G E R M A N

POST & AUTHOR & Vision
STS - Solar Thruster Sailor
RSS - Ring Segment System LTH - Launcher Transport Head EFO - Experimental Flying Object RSC - Rotational Slingshot Catapult
L I N K S ENGLISH