Drag force on solar sails due to absorption of solar radiation Original Research Article

We consider a special relativistic effect, known as the Poynting–Robertson effect, on various types of trajectories of solar sails. Since this effect occurs at order vϕ/c, where vϕ is the transversal speed relative to the sun, it can dominate over other special relativistic effects, which occur at order v2/c2. While solar radiation can be used to propel the solar sail, the absorbed portion of it also gives rise to a drag force in the transversal direction. For escape trajectories, this diminishes the cruising velocity, which can have a cumulative effect on the heliocentric distance. For a solar sail directly facing the sun in a bound orbit, the Poynting–Robertson effect decreases its orbital speed, thereby causing it to slowly spiral towards the sun. We also consider this effect for non-Keplerian orbits in which the solar sail is tilted in the azimuthal direction. While in principle the drag force could be counter-balanced by an extremely small tilt of the solar sail in the polar direction, periodic adjustments are more feasible.