2017/03/08 by Grover A. Swartzlander, Grover A. Swartzlander Jr · 2 citations
Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications #Micro and Nano Robotics #Spacecraft Dynamics and Control #physics.optics #physics.space-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1364/josab.34.000c25
6 pages, 7 figures
arxiv created 2017/03/08 · openalex publication_date 2017/05/11 · arxiv updated 2017/06/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Advanced diffractive films may afford advantages over passive reflective surfaces for a variety space missions that use solar or laser in-space propulsion. Three cases are compared: Sun-facing diffractive sails, Littrow diffraction configurations, and conventional reflective sails. A simple Earth-to-Mars orbit transfer at a constant attitude with respect to the sun-line finds no penalty for transparent diffractive sails. Advantages of the latter approach include actively controlled metasails and the reuse of photons.