Object 2014-28E can be equipped with a Hall-type plasma engine.
The story of the mysterious spacecraft 2014-28E has been continued. Today in the media published an expert comment, which denies that the secret device can be used to destroy the enemy satellites.
Summary of the previous series: in May 2014, the Russian rocket launched three military communications satellites, the Spring, into orbit. In November, amateur astronomers noticed unexpected maneuvers of one of the fragments of space debris. As it turned out, this is not garbage at all, but another object that is secretly launched into orbit along with the three declared satellites. Purpose and characteristics of the device remain unknown.
Western experts have suggested that the device (it was given the name "Object 2014-28E") "may have several functions, both civilian and military; perhaps it is equipped with a manipulator for grabbing objects or kinetic weapons. "
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However, an anonymous Russian expert in the field of space technology refutes these insinuations : the hype raised in the Western media about the appearance in orbit of a new Russian "satellite killer" is politically motivated, he said in an interview with Interfax.
“Firstly, Kosmos-2499, as it was later named in the Russian notification sent to the UN, can only be a mini-satellite with a mass of up to 50 kilograms, taking into account the mass of the payload that Rokot can bring to close to a circular orbit with a height of about 1.5 thousand kilometers, and a mass of three completely non-small “Springs”. Secondly, if traditional engines were used on it, given the limited reserves of fuel, it could perform a very small number of maneuvers ... This suggests a conclusion: something new is being tested on the device, most likely a kind of miniature engine, ”the expert noted.
The expert pointed to an informational message that appeared on the website of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology: it was said that correction blocks based on Hall-type plasma engines of a new generation, which had been developed at the “V. M. V. Keldysh. Perhaps this is somehow connected with the object 2014-28E, the expert suggested.
Hall's engine
“Hall-type plasma engines belong to the class of electromagnetic engines with an external magnetic field, in which the closed electron drift plays a key role,” the MIPT website says. - The basis of the action of the Hall engine is the creation of a strong electric field in the plasma. For the first time the idea of the formation of a noticeable potential drop in plasma was expressed by the Soviet physicist A.V. Zharinov during the study of the potential distribution along the radius in a cylindrical magnetic trap with magnetic "plugs" in the magnetron method of creating a plasma containing fast ions. Later, on the basis of this idea, two schemes of Hall engines were developed - an engine with an anode layer (proposed by AV Zharinov) and a stationary plasma engine (proposed by A.I. Morozov). It is considered that the size of the acceleration zone in the axial direction in a stationary plasma engine is larger than in a motor with an anode layer. Nevertheless, these engines are similar in their principle of operation and attainable parameters.
Russia occupied and occupies a leading position in the development of Hall engines. In our country, a unique experience of their practical application has been accumulated (1971 - the first flight tests; 1982 - the beginning of regular use in space). The main area of use of such engines is to maintain the orbit of geostationary communication satellites in the directions "north-south" and "west-east". Since 2004, Russian Hall engines began to be used on board foreign spacecraft from leading US and European firms. Currently, 3 out of 5 world leaders in the production of satellites (EADS Astrium (EU), Thales Alenia Space (EU) and Space Systems / Loral (USA)) use Hall engines made in Russia.
Thus, Hall-type plasma engines are an example of world-class Soviet / Russian technology that is actively used not only in Russia but also abroad. ”
Summary of the previous series: in May 2014, the Russian rocket launched three military communications satellites, the Spring, into orbit. In November, amateur astronomers noticed unexpected maneuvers of one of the fragments of space debris. As it turned out, this is not garbage at all, but another object that is secretly launched into orbit along with the three declared satellites. Purpose and characteristics of the device remain unknown.
Western experts have suggested that the device (it was given the name "Object 2014-28E") "may have several functions, both civilian and military; perhaps it is equipped with a manipulator for grabbing objects or kinetic weapons. "
')
However, an anonymous Russian expert in the field of space technology refutes these insinuations : the hype raised in the Western media about the appearance in orbit of a new Russian "satellite killer" is politically motivated, he said in an interview with Interfax.
“Firstly, Kosmos-2499, as it was later named in the Russian notification sent to the UN, can only be a mini-satellite with a mass of up to 50 kilograms, taking into account the mass of the payload that Rokot can bring to close to a circular orbit with a height of about 1.5 thousand kilometers, and a mass of three completely non-small “Springs”. Secondly, if traditional engines were used on it, given the limited reserves of fuel, it could perform a very small number of maneuvers ... This suggests a conclusion: something new is being tested on the device, most likely a kind of miniature engine, ”the expert noted.
The expert pointed to an informational message that appeared on the website of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology: it was said that correction blocks based on Hall-type plasma engines of a new generation, which had been developed at the “V. M. V. Keldysh. Perhaps this is somehow connected with the object 2014-28E, the expert suggested.
Hall's engine
“Hall-type plasma engines belong to the class of electromagnetic engines with an external magnetic field, in which the closed electron drift plays a key role,” the MIPT website says. - The basis of the action of the Hall engine is the creation of a strong electric field in the plasma. For the first time the idea of the formation of a noticeable potential drop in plasma was expressed by the Soviet physicist A.V. Zharinov during the study of the potential distribution along the radius in a cylindrical magnetic trap with magnetic "plugs" in the magnetron method of creating a plasma containing fast ions. Later, on the basis of this idea, two schemes of Hall engines were developed - an engine with an anode layer (proposed by AV Zharinov) and a stationary plasma engine (proposed by A.I. Morozov). It is considered that the size of the acceleration zone in the axial direction in a stationary plasma engine is larger than in a motor with an anode layer. Nevertheless, these engines are similar in their principle of operation and attainable parameters.
Russia occupied and occupies a leading position in the development of Hall engines. In our country, a unique experience of their practical application has been accumulated (1971 - the first flight tests; 1982 - the beginning of regular use in space). The main area of use of such engines is to maintain the orbit of geostationary communication satellites in the directions "north-south" and "west-east". Since 2004, Russian Hall engines began to be used on board foreign spacecraft from leading US and European firms. Currently, 3 out of 5 world leaders in the production of satellites (EADS Astrium (EU), Thales Alenia Space (EU) and Space Systems / Loral (USA)) use Hall engines made in Russia.
Thus, Hall-type plasma engines are an example of world-class Soviet / Russian technology that is actively used not only in Russia but also abroad. ”
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/363221/
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