Researchers led by NASA's former chief technologist are hoping to launch a water-powered satellite as a fuel source. A group of Cornell University and Mason Peck want their device to be the first CubeSat (these are small satellites the size of a shoebox), which will go into orbit of the Moon and will demonstrate the potential of water as a fuel source for a spacecraft. This safe and stable substance is quite common even in space and could find even wider use on Earth, since we are looking for an alternative to fossil fuels.
Until we develop a warp engine or other futuristic propulsion system, our space travel will probably largely depend on the rockets on the fuel that is now common. They work by burning gas in the back of the apparatus and due to this, thanks to the laws of physics, they are pushed forward. Such propulsion systems for satellites must be light and carry a lot of energy in a small space (have a high energy density) in order to continuously maintain the device for many years or even decades in orbit.
The first concern is safety. Packing energy in a small amount and mass in the form of fuel means that even the slightest problem will lead to disastrous consequences like what we saw with the recent explosion of the SpaceX rocket. Putting satellites into orbit with any form of unstable fuel on board can mean a catastrophe for expensive equipment, and perhaps for human life, which is even worse.
Water can help us get around this problem because it is essentially a carrier of energy, not fuel. The Cornell University group does not plan to use water as fuel, but rather to use electricity from solar panels to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen and use them as fuel. These two gases combine and become an explosive mixture, allowing you to realize the energy expended in splitting water. Burning these gases can be used to move the satellite forward, accelerate it, or change its position in orbit, depending on the destination.
Solar cells are very reliable and have no moving parts, so they are ideal for functioning in microgravity and in extreme conditions of space, in order to generate current from sunlight. Traditionally, this energy is stored in batteries, but Cornell scientists want to use it for splitting water on board.
The proposed process - known as electrolysis - involves passing a current through water, usually containing a slightly soluble electrolyte. The current breaks water down into oxygen and hydrogen, which are separated separately at two electrodes — the anode and the cathode. On Earth, gravity then separates these gases and they can be used. But in zero gravity conditions, the satellite will need centrifugal forces from rotation to separate the gases from the solution.
Electrolysis has already been used in space in the past to provide manned space missions with oxygen and not to take up high-pressure oxygen tanks, for example, at the International Space Station. But instead of sending water into space as a cargo on a rocket, we could simply mine it once on the moon or on asteroids. If the new approach of using hydrogen and oxygen for satellite fuel proves successful, we could get its ready source in space. Such an approach could be applied to the energy supply of the spacecraft of the future.
As is often the case, developments in the field of space technology give rise to ideas that can be applied on Earth, especially in solving significant energy problems. Electricity is really difficult to store, and as the demand for electricity increases, we need breakthroughs. Wind and solar farms are not the most efficient forms of renewable energy, not because of problems with energy production, but because we often cannot do anything useful with this energy. Electricity networks do not cope during periods of high output and low energy demand.
Perhaps we will be helped by the use of surplus electricity for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. Then hydrogen can be stored, and, if necessary, combined with oxygen from the atmosphere.
The article is based on materials .
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