SBIR Phase II: Magneto Hydro Dynamic (MHD) Generation for Spacecraft Power

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to provide a new source of power generation using Magneto Hydro Dynamics (MHD) for spacecraft that utilizes the untapped potential energy contained in the solar wind plasma. This new form of power generation will have high power density, resulting in lower-cost access to space-based platforms. In addition, this new form of power generation will reduce the need to rely on rare Earth elements and the resulting toxic byproducts produced when solar panels are manufactured for spacecraft power. The broader impacts also include the superconducting magnets and ion concentration funnel, which are designed and developed as part of this project. These will have benefits and applications in the medical field, potentially supporting advancements in magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. Future spacecraft capability and performance are continually advancing and will require increasingly larger amounts of electrical power to operate. MHD generation will be able to meet this growing need. The number of spacecraft in orbit is rapidly increasing each year with 7,389 satellites in orbit today, with 850 launched in the first six months of 2021 alone. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be a significant advancement in technology for space-based electrical power generation. The intellectual merit of this work lies in the expansion of the knowledge of solar wind plasma conductivity, which will result in a deeper understanding of the space environment. This new form of power generation has been proven to be feasible, with the potential for high levels of power generation, from results of testing at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as part of SBIR Phase I. Roughly 99% of the matter in the universe consists of plasma. This new form of power generation, which harnesses energy by capturing and utilizing space plasma in the interplanetary solar system environment, will advance our understanding of astrophysics and is built upon the combined sciences of plasma physics and electromagnetics. This project addresses a critical gap in developing new technology that harnesses the vast potential energy stored in space plasma. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.