A Phase-Transit Cargo Ferry: Energy and Crossing Time for a Five-Tonne Payload
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper presents a complete design study of a phase-transit cargo ferry rated for a payload of five tonnes, computed throughout from stated assumptions. A crossing specified at eight full turns of the phase coordinate costs 4800.0 MJ of electrical energy, drawn at a mean power of 1333.3 kW over a one-hour crossing. A single turn costs 600.0 MJ and a sixteen-turn route costs 9600.0 MJ. The conventional tug performing the same transfer would expend 713.2 kg of propellant carrying 3209.2 MJ of chemical energy, so the ferry replaces a propellant bill with a larger but reusable electrical bill. Every figure is a computed result of the stated model and nothing was built or tested: the study is SIMULATED, NOT MEASURED, and its limits are stated as plainly as its performance.
Author: Aldred, William Alexander
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225792624