High temperature superconducting magnetic levitation technology in launch assist for space flight

With the need for a low-cost, safe, reliable, and recoverable vehicle to get to space, magnetic launch assist (Maglifter) represents one possible strategy for achieving the vehicle with high ground take-off velocity. In this article, a permanent magnet guideway-high temperature superconductor (PMG-HTS) interaction magnetic levitation (Maglev) system was designed and investigated. A quasi-static force measuring setup was built to study the levitation properties of bulk HTSs above the different positions on the top surface of the PM guideway. Then a demo HTS Maglev test platform was constructed with 4 Maglev units and 2 PM tracks of 7 m length. The levitation characteristics of the test platfrom were measured and analyzed at different field-cooled heights (FCH) or loading conditions. As a result, the low FCH was useful for increasing the lateral stability of the Maglifter.