The Heliopause Electrostatic Rapid Transit System (HERTS) – Design, Trades, and Analyses Performed in a Two Year NASA Investigation of Electric Sail Propulsion Systems

Abstract: Personnel from NASA’s MSFC have been investigating the feasibility of an advanced propulsion system known as the Electric Sail (E-Sail) for future scientific exploration missions. This team initially won a NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Phase I NASA Innovative Advanced Concept (NIAC) award and then a two-year follow-on Phase II NIAC award in October 2015. This paper documents the findings from this three-year investigation. An Electric sail, a propellant-less propulsion syst…