This paper has investigated if utilising Ion-Propulsion on a solar sunshade would lead to a reduction in total mass. The mechanism leading to this effect is that by using IP, the sunshade could be positioned closer to Earth. Positioning the sunshade closer to Earth would in turn allow for a smaller absolute size in the sunshade (whilst remaining a fixed angular size), and thus a decrease in total mass. This would lead to a decrease in launch costs and manufacturing costs.  The results indicate that fitting satellites with Ion-Propulsion would lead to a reduction in the total mass for the sunshade. More specifically they showcase the extent of which using IP has an effect on total mass, for example certain minimum ISP values that are needed to be reached in order for significant reductions of mass to arise. In a similar manner, the duration of which the satellites can remain in orbit also heavily impacts the total mass of the sunshade. If Ion-Propulsion where to be utilised it is quintessential to understand how the technology impacts the total lifetime of the satellites. Additional investigation may also be made in investigating if Ion-Propulsion could be used in such a way where the satellites do not remain stationary in respect to the distance between Earth and the Sun, perhaps this could lead to additional reductions of mass.

This study evaluates the feasibility of reusing lightweight solar sails in order to transport 1.69 * 10^6 sunshades, made out of occulting membranes with free-standing SiO2 nanotube films, to the adjusted sun-Earth Lagrange point, L1'. The purpose of the study was therefore to evaluate if this method is sufficient enough to lower Earth's average surface temperature by 1 degree C within a reasonable time frame, due to the rapid climate change, and compare the total launch mass to previously proposed methods. Two mission times of 10 years and 15 years were used, and three different starting altitudes, the GEO, MEO and LEO orbits, were investigated. The results showed that the method in this study was feasible for all combinations of starting altitudes and mission times. The solution where the mission time was set to 15 years and where the starting altitude was set to the GEO orbit, resulted in a launch mass of 11\% of the mass of the previously proposed solution. Furthermore, the investigation showed that high altitude starting orbits and long mission times resulted in a lower launch mass. However, in order to fulfill the goal of reducing the average temperature by 1 degree C in a reasonable time frame, the mission time cannot be too long. Finally, the results and calculations in this study are partially based on assumptions and simplifications, and therefore the results should be considered as approximations and not exact analytical solutions.

As an alternative solution to global warming, this thesis explores the possibility of aspace-based geoengineering scheme that may prove worthwhile to implement in parallel toother environmental efforts that help mitigate impact of climate change. One suggestionof a geoengineering solution is deploying a large number of sunshades in the vicinity ofthe first Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system, and this prospective sunshade projectwould serve to shield Earth from incident solar radiation. This thesis is an extension ofa feasibility study for the implementation of this large-scale mission, and has a focus oncomparing electric thrusters to solar sailing as a means of propulsion. Background onelectric propulsion systems and spaceflight mechanics is provided. The investigation wasperformed by defining the spacecraft configurations, and then computing trajectories toa point of escape from Earth and from there to the final equilibrium point.Our results show that in order to meet the propellant demands of the electric thrusters,the launch mass would need to increase by around 15-25 % compared to the solar sailingimplementation, equating to around 1010 kg. Nevertheless, electric propulsion could stillbe a beneficial choice since it would allow shorter transfer times for each shade whichreduces the radiation exposure and subsequent degradation of the spacecraft’s systems.It was found that the transfer time with electric propulsion would be about one-half orone-fifth that of solar sailing, depending on spacecraft parameters. Additionally, electricpropulsion allows a much lower initial parking orbit, and while this would increase the ra-diation exposure it would also reduce the launch costs due to the higher payload capacityto lower altitudes. However, electric propulsion of this scale require prior advancementsin xenon or other inert propellant extraction methods and possibly a wide-scale construc-tion of air separation plants.

To mitigate climate change a proposed space-based geoengineering solutionis to screen off solar irradiance by placing a membrane in between the Earthand the Sun. The feasibility of such a project largely depends on minimizingthe mass of the shading screen and as an extension to the Sunshade projectthis thesis investigated how such a low-mass membrane could be designed.Because of the acting forces at location in space, minimizing the mass impliesthat the material ought to have a low reflection coefficient and surface densityand therefore the highly transparent material of artificial spider silk was chosenas the proposed material. The only possibility to block light is then byrefraction or diffraction and, since the presence of apertures might lower thesurface density, the structure of the suggested membrane is a grid patternof wires. Such a diffraction grating was investigated while applying twomethods. Method 1 optimized the dimensions of the structure to lower thetotal transmission on Earth when placed on the direct transmission axis ofthe membrane and method 2 tilted the membrane in order to place Earth ata diffraction minimum. This resulted in three suggested designs A, B, andC with surface densities varying from that of 0.00867 to 0.228 gm−2. Theresults were compared with two previous design proposals where the lowestareal density was 0.34g/m2, which is 3/2 to 40 times larger than the densitiesproposed in this paper. The reflectivities for A and B were 12.5 and 3.75 timeslarger than that of the smallest previously achieved reflectivity. The reflectivityof C could not be determined exactly but ought to have a reflectivity at leastas low as B at 3%, making it the most promising candidate for a membranedesign of the three.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the possibility of using gridded ion thrusters as a means of attitude control for a solar sail as a part of the sunshade project, which aims to place 10^8 solar sail sunshade spacecraft, each with an area of about 10 000 m^2, at the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point L1 in order to reduce Earth's global temperature. Two types of solar sail sunshade spacecraft were studied. The first type, referred to as the sunshade demonstrator, had an area of 100 m^2 and a mass of 10 kg, and the second type, referred to as the full-sized sunshade, had an area of 10 000 m^2 and a mass of 90 kg. To determine the significance of using ion thrusters for the attitude control system, the mass of the required fuel, as well as the total mass that had to be added to the spacecraft to implement the attitude control system, was calculated. Two types of journeys were studied for each spacecraft type: starting from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to L1 and from Geostationary Orbit (GEO) to L1, respectively. The results showed that the duration of the journey of the full-sized spacecraft was about 570 days from LEO to L1 and 370 from GEO to L1, respectively. The required amounts of fuel for the respective journeys were 580 g and 15 g, respectively, and resulted in a total additional mass of 7.8 kg and 7.2 kg, respectively.

By placing millions of space sunshades, of the order of 104 m2 at the sub-Lagrangian point L1',between the sun and Earth, solar radiation can be reduced enough to achieve the necessary temper-ature reduction to enable a slow down of the global warming. The vast amount of space sunshadesposes significant challenges on the communication system, as the probability of interference, whichcan distort information, increases with the number of simultaneously communicating units.This thesis aims to design a potential structure for the communication system that minimizesinterference as much as possible. To reduce the number of simultaneously communicating units, thesunshades are arranged in cell formation, where a mother is placed in the center with daughtersaround that only communicate with their specific cell mother. Direct communication betweenthe Earth and space sunshades is not possible as the interference from solar radiation can causesignificant distortion on the signals. Therefore, relay satellites are placed in orbit around thesub-Lagrangian point L1' at a sufficient distance to avoid the effects of solar radiation. Thus, thecommunication between the mothers and Earth is instead routed via the relay satellites. Sincecommunication between such a large number of entities in space has not been investigated before,this approach could provide a possible basic design framework for designing such infrastructure inthe future.

extilindustrin måste ständigt söka nya alternativ inom beläggningar och laminering för att minska den skadliga miljöpåverkan. En fråga som uppkommit är om beläggningar används i större utsträckning än vad som egentligen behövs. Denna kandidatuppsats har skrivits i samarbete med Artex AB och kretsar kring ett befintligt solskydd och solens ljusspektrum som består av strålar mellan 320–2500 nm. Material som bestrålas kan antingen absorbera, reflektera eller transmittera dessa strålar. Strålarnas alternativa vägar adderat med varandra blir alltid hundra procent, vilket innebär att genom att öka den reflekterande förmågan minskas de andra två tillstånden. I denna studie granskas den totala reflekterande förmågan av ljusspektrumet hos textila material som i sin tur beror på många olika faktorer. Det undersöks även om det är ett steg i fel riktning att använda sig av beläggningar för att nå ett bättre högreflekterande material. Detta även för att minska miljöbelastningen. Eftersom beläggningar generellt förstyvar material är detta kontraproduktivt när man vill bibehålla följsamheten hos en tygvara, vilket är avgörande för denna typ av produkt. Skrynkelheten går nämligen hand i hand med tygvarans då stumma yta. Detta projekt fokuserar på solskydd som ska användas inifrån en bil. Syftet med studien var alltså att undersöka om en obelagd vit och tät tygvara kan uppnå tillräcklig funktion för ett solskydd innanför en bil. I experimenten användes fyra olika tygvaror med olika strukturer i bindningarna för att göra en så omfattande studie som möjligt. Dessa fyra var: en satin, en varptrikå och två stycken tvåskaft, varav den ena glesare och mer matt än den andra. Respektive tygvara beströks med ett färgpigment för att analysera om kombinationen mellan reflektion och elastisk potential var möjlig. Tester som genomförts i denna undersökning var: bestämning av färghärdighet, total reflektion, ljustransmittansmätning och ett egenkomponerat skrynkeltest. Vidare granskades dess skillnader för att undersöka om ett vitt material kunde ge en bättre totalreflektion, men även för att bevisa att en tygvaras konstruktion kan erhålla följsamheten även om en beläggning är nödvändig. Mätvärdena granskades för att sedan jämföra, först med varandra och sedan mot ett referensprov som kommer från en befintlig produkt som författarna fick att tillgå från Artex AB. En trikåvaras elastiska förmåga visade sig kunna bibehållas trots ett belagt ytskikt, och visade även på bra totalreflektion. Denna varptrikå uppvisade, tillsammans med satinen, på bra totalreflektion då de var obelagda och hade god följsamhet. I test om totalreflektion visades det att en vit tät tygvara reflekterade större procent än en belagd tygvara i det synliga ljusets spektrum. För att kunna dra slutsatser om ett vitt obelagt tyg med dessa konstruktioner (satin och varptrikå) hade varit bättre för ett solskydd hade vidare undrsökningar behövts göras. Detta för att se hur mycket av den totala reaktionen som är diffus respektive spekulär / The textile industry must always find ways to reinvent itself and look for alternative options, as the coating and lamination industries are vital for a better environment. A question that needs answering is if coating on textiles are used more than needed. This bachelor thesis is written in cooperation with Artex AB and revolves around the suns light spectrum that consists of rays of 320 to 2500 nm. Materials that irradiate can either absorb, reflect or transmit these wavelengths. The rays alternative routes added with each other is always one hundred percent, which means that through increasing the reflecting capacity the other two will decrease. The most interesting part of this study, was to examine the ability of the light spectrum for material, and take in to consideration it’s construction, structure and color. Textile materials are often coated to add qualities and, in this case, to increase reflecting quality. This study is trying to prove, that it's a step in the wrong direction when it comes to the functionality of a sunshade product and for a reduced impact on the environment. As coating generally stiffens materials it’s contuerproductive with regards to keeping the resilience for the fabric, which is decisive for this type of product. The wrinkles go hand in hand with the fabrics coated surface. Since this project focuses on an existing sunshade product that will be used inside of a car, the heat radiation and the undulations within a certain wavelength that requires reflection will be focused on. The purpose with the study was to examine if an uncoated white fabric can achieve the same function in a sunshade as the current fabric in the product. In the experiments, four fabrics with different structures were used to complete such a comprehensive study as possible. These four fabrics were: one satin, one warp knitted and two plain weave, where one of them was more faint and sparse than the other. Each fabric was coated with a color pigment to analyze the possibilities of a high reflective material that still has elastic potential. The tests that were made was: determination of color fastness, total reflection, light transmit and a wrinkle test. Further on these differences were reviewed, and then concluded that the coating, in hope of increasing the reflection, is negligible. But also, to prove that a fabrics construction can keep its resilience even with a coated surface. These values have been reviewed and then compared with each other and against a reference fabric that the writers took part of from Artex AB. A warp knitted fabric was able to maintain its elastic ability regardless of a coated surface, and also shows good total reflection. This warp knitted fabric showed, together with the satin, good total reflection when they were uncoated and had good resilience. In this test for total reflection, it was proven that a white dense fabric reflects better than a coated fabric in the visible spectra of light. To be able to conclude if a white uncoated fabric with these constructions (satin and warp knitting) would be more useful for a sunshade, further studies had to be made, to see how much of the total reaction that is diffuse and specular.