Playing around with the idea of reaction-less spacecraft propulsion using tethered bobs. As it turns out, this is an old idea. Geoffrey Landis, explored it in 1990 and credits prior authors from the 80s.
See http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19910012850 or try https://www.google.com/search?q=landis+reactionless+propulsion if the link gets stale.
I wasn't aware of any of this before I started to explore how this may work via a simulation :/ Anyway, here are some ideas for next steps..
- Use machine learning techniques to explore propulsion strategies
- Use 4 bobs to navigate 3D space (we currently use 2 bobs)
I'm not on any schedule. If you like to play or chip in, please join!
Babak