Plasma navigation in the Solar System

Plasma navigation in the Solar System This paper formulates the concept of plasma navigation for STINGRAY-class spacecraft: active proton-ion gliders that exploit the momentum of cosmic plasma flows as an external distributed propulsion resource. Plasma navigation is introduced as a general method of trajectory control for spacecraft capable of controlled interaction with the surrounding cosmic plasma; STINGRAY is treated as a reference example of such a spacecraft. In contrast to classical schemes of interplanetary navigation, where the principal roles are played by gravitational fields, chemical impulse and on-board propellant, the proposed approach treats interplanetary and magnetospheric space as a non-uniform dynamic landscape of available momentum. Revision 0.2 - extended and corrected