Chapter 135 Rocket Launch Plan
Jiang Fan's idea came from a movie. There is a space-based aircraft carrier in the Marvel movie.

The space-based aircraft carrier in Marvel is very abnormal. It only requires a few large fans to make the aircraft carrier rise vertically, which is a bit unscientific.

He didn't intend to do it this way either.

He was going to use an ion drive.

Ion engines are spacecraft propulsion equipment that use ionized gas as propellant. Together with solar sails, they belong to the electric propulsion family. It is also the best-performing and most mature electric propulsion system.

The biggest advantage of the ion engine is of course its high efficiency.

Since the injection speed of ion flow is much faster than chemical propellant, the ion engine can generate 10 times the thrust of traditional propulsion equipment per unit mass of fuel consumed.

Therefore, Deep Space 1 only carries 81.5 kilograms of xenon propellant and can fly for 20 months, which is simply unimaginable for chemical propellants.

In addition, the smaller mass and volume of the ion engine itself can also be said to be a major advantage.

The ion engine of Deep Space 1 only weighs about 8 kilograms and is only about 40 centimeters in diameter, which undoubtedly saves the limited space on the detector.

Small mass and small size are a huge advantage for spacecraft.

This is even more good news for Jiang Fan! ! !

The future of ion engines is promising!
It is made so small on the spacecraft to save space, but it does not need to be like this on the ground.

He could make the ion engine bigger.

And as long as he obtains the corresponding credits, he can redeem the ion engine technology!
Ion engine technology is also a technology that can be taken out!
The principle of the ion engine is very simple. The first condition for operation is to create ion gas.

This is usually done by an electron gun. The electron beam emitted by the tubular cathode is injected into the magnetized ionization chamber and collides with the gas atoms filled in the chamber, causing the atoms to ionize into monovalent positive ions.

The other end of the ionization chamber is equipped with a pair of metal meshes. Thousands of volts of voltage are applied to the meshes, which accelerates the ions to a speed of 30 meters per second and discharges them from the tail to form an ion beam, which generates thrust.

At this point, ion propulsion technology is consistent with traditional chemical propulsion technology: thrust is generated by ejecting matter, but the way in which the matter is ejected is different.

As for the power supply of the electron gun, it is generally provided by the solar panels of the spacecraft. This structure is called a solar-electric propulsion system. This system has been used in several missions using ion engines so far.

Now with Baineng graphene batteries and high energy-absorbing solar panels, this system is even more advanced.

Of course, if you want the ion engine to work normally, there is still a difficult problem that must be solved: the engine continues to eject positive ion beams, which will leave negatively charged electrons in it. This forms a strong negative electric field in the engine, which seriously hinders the positive ion beam. As ions continue to be discharged, if enough electrons accumulate, they will even attract the discharged positive ions back.

The solution to this problem is to install an electron gun as an electrical neutralizer near the exhaust net that injects ions, and continuously inject electrons into the ion beam, which can neutralize the ion beam and prevent the engine from being overcharged.

However, the ion engine does not produce strong thrust in a short time like the chemical propulsion engine, so it is not suitable as an engine for a launch vehicle or other occasions that require large acceleration.

But the ion engine is suitable as an engine for space-based aircraft! !
Engine technology is developing well now.

The earliest ion engine was made by the NASA Research Center around 1960, but it has been in the experimental stage since then. In 1998, the comet probe "Deep Space 1" used the ion engine as the main propulsion system for deep space flight for the first time.

NASA's latest generation ion thruster has a power of 7KW, while China's electric thrusters have a power of 1KW to 5KW.

Information shows that China has completed key technical research on high-power thrusters, and the Institute of Space Technology has completed a 50-kilowatt ion thruster.

The horsepower of household cars is generally between 100-150 horses, and the corresponding power of one horsepower is 0.735KW.

The ion engine now has 68 horsepower.So ion engines can already be used in cars.

If you only consider the power of a single engine, perhaps the ion engine is not that good!
But the ion engine is also lighter and smaller than the engine!
Weighing 8 kilograms and measuring 40 centimeters, several more engines like this can be installed.

Of course, the ion engine consumes electricity, and installing too many will be a severe test for the battery.

Originally, ion engine thrusters were not practical on the ground, but now Jiang Fan has made a major breakthrough in battery technology, making ion thrusters a practical technology.

Moreover, Baineng graphene batteries have more advantages than aerospace fuel.

One cubic meter of Baineng graphene battery has a capacity of 15000kwh.

The heat of one kilowatt hour is 3600KJ, which means that a one-ton graphene battery has 54000000KJ of energy.

He looked up the calorific value of aerospace fuel.

N2H4 is commonly used as aerospace fuel, also known as hydrazine or anhydrous hydrazine, and can be used as rocket propellant or fuel cells.

Its low calorific value (calorific value) is 19412.500KJ/kg (kilojoules/kg). The energy released by complete combustion:
N2H4+O2=N2+2H2O;

Release heat △H=624KJ/mol (approximately 19412.500KJ/kg)

That is, one ton of aerospace fuel weighs 19412500KJ.

In addition, Baineng graphene battery has the structure of a thousand-layer cake. One cubic meter of Baineng graphene battery actually only weighs 0.3kg.

For rocket launches, the main calculation is weight. According to the ratio, the energy of a hundred-energy graphene battery of the same weight is ten times that of aerospace fuel.

You must know that graphene has very good electrical conductivity, 140 times that of silicon. Batteries based on graphene can ensure the operation of high-power ion engines. In other words, Baineng graphene batteries can replace aerospace fuel.

After some calculations, as long as there are enough ion engines, the space-based aircraft carrier can be propelled into the air.

According to relevant public information, the engine power of the most advanced jet aircraft is about 11 kilowatts.

Well, with China's current technology, it would require 2200 ion engines to be equivalent to the most advanced jet aircraft.

Jiang Fan shook his head helplessly. There were more than 2000 ion engines, which were too many. The ion engines needed his help to improve them!
He thought about the ion engine technology in his heart. Such technology cannot yet be used on space-based aircraft carriers, so the plan to launch rockets from space can only be postponed.

Let’s use existing technology first!

He raised his head, looked at Qiao Guojin and said, "First use traditional means to launch ten communication satellites."

"I'll see if I can improve the launch system for the remaining satellites."

Qiao Guojin nodded and agreed. With the current technical level, ten communication satellites are enough to build a satellite mobile phone communication network.

As for Jiang Fan's plan to improve the rocket launch system, he could only keep silent.

According to common sense, Jiang Fan alone cannot improve the rocket launch system.

But Jiang Fan has the precedent of using [-]-energy graphene batteries and high-energy-absorbing solar panels, and he dare not question it now.

(End of this chapter)

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