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  • Book
  • © 2013

Fast Solar Sailing

Astrodynamics of Special Sailcraft Trajectories

Authors:

  • This is the first full mathematical (and technological) monograph devoted to Fast Solar Sailing
  • Educates the next generation of aerospace engineers on a revolutionary new engineering reality they can use for future deep space missions
  • With a foreword by Les Johnson, Deputy Manager, NASA Advanced Concepts Office
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Space Technology Library (SPTL, volume 30)

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Hardcover Book USD 109.99
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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages I-XXIX
  2. A Review of Rocket Spacecraft Trajectories

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Some General Rocket Features

      • Giovanni Vulpetti
      Pages 3-32
  3. Sailing in Space Environment

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 33-33
    2. The Sun as Power Source for Spaceflight

      • Giovanni Vulpetti
      Pages 35-64
    3. Sailcraft Concepts

      • Giovanni Vulpetti
      Pages 65-92
    4. Solar Sails in Interplanetary Environment

      • Giovanni Vulpetti
      Pages 93-122
  4. Sailcraft Trajectories

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 123-123
    2. Fundamentals of Sailcraft Trajectory

      • Giovanni Vulpetti
      Pages 125-164
    3. Modeling Light-Induced Thrust

      • Giovanni Vulpetti
      Pages 165-254
    4. The Theory of Fast Solar Sailing

      • Giovanni Vulpetti
      Pages 255-319
  5. Advanced Aspects

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 321-321
    2. Approach to SPS Trajectory Optimization

      • Giovanni Vulpetti
      Pages 323-377
    3. Advanced Features in Solar-Photon Sailing

      • Giovanni Vulpetti
      Pages 379-398
  6. Fast Solar Sailing

    • Giovanni Vulpetti
    Pages E1-E2
  7. Back Matter

    Pages 399-407

About this book

The range of solar sailing is very vast; it is a fully in-space means of propulsion that should allow us to accomplish various mission classes that are literally impossible using rocket propulsion, no matter if nuclear or electric. Fast and very fast solar sailings are special classes of sailcraft missions, initially developed only in the first half of the 1990s and still evolving, especially after the latest advances in nanotechnology.

This book describes how to plan, compute and optimize the trajectories of sailcraft with speeds considerably higher than 100 km/s; such sailcraft would be able to explore the outer heliosphere, the near interstellar medium and the solar gravitational lens (550-800 astronomical units) in times significantly shorter than the span of an average career (~ 35 years), just to cite a few examples. The scientific interest in this type of exploration is huge.

Authors and Affiliations

  • International Academy of Astronautics, Paris, France

    Giovanni Vulpetti

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access