Braking of a magnetized body at the interaction of its magnetic field with a rarified plasma flow

The features of the flow around and the dynamic interaction of a magnetized sphere with a hypersonic flow of a rarefied plasma are studied via physical simulation. The dependences of the coefficients of the electromagnetic drag of a sphere on the ratio of the magnetic pressure to the dynamic pressure are obtained for the axial and orthogonal orientations of the plasma flow vectors and of the body's own magnetic field. At an magnetic field of the sphere of $0.8$–$1.5$ T, the electromagnetic force generated in the “magnetic field of the sphere–surrounding plasma” system is comparable to the pulse injected by plasma accelerators of special spacecraft designed for forced (“active”) removal of objects of space debris from the near-Earth space via their braking with a plasma jet, removing to lower orbits, and disposal by combustion in the dense layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. Small, permanent magnets can be used arranged in a particular manner (Halbach magnetic arrays) to create energy-efficient, compact sources of the magnetic field of these objects with an induction of $0.8$–$1.5$ T.