Radiation Pressure on a Diffractive Sailcraft

TL;DR

This paper compares diffractive and reflective sails for space propulsion, showing that transparent diffractive sails can be as effective as traditional reflective ones, with potential advantages in photon reuse and active control.

Contribution

It introduces a comparative analysis of diffractive and reflective sails, highlighting the potential benefits of transparent diffractive metasails for space propulsion.

Findings

No penalty for transparent diffractive sails in Earth-to-Mars transfer

Diffractive sails enable photon reuse and active control

Potential advantages over passive reflective surfaces

Abstract

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.