Statistics – Applications
Scientific paper
Jan 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002aipc..608..299h&link_type=abstract
SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL FORUM- STAIF 2002. Conference on Thermophyiscs in Microgravity; Conference on In
Statistics
Applications
Spaceborne And Space Research Instruments, Apparatus, And Components
Scientific paper
Long, high-strength tethers can provide a mechanism for transferring orbital momentum and energy from one space object to another without the consumption of propellant. By providing a highly-reusable transportation architecture, systems built upon such ``momentum-exchange'' tethers may be able to achieve significant cost reductions for a number of in-space propulsion missions. Before such systems could be placed into operation, however, a number of technical challenges must be met, including flight demonstration of high-strength, highly survivable tethers, demonstration of the ability to control the dynamics of a rotating tether system, and the ability for a tether system to rendezvous with, capture, and then toss a payload. In this paper, we discuss a concept design for a small momentum exchange tether experiment that is intended to serve as the first step in demonstrating these key technologies. The ``Microsatellite Tethered Orbit Raising Qualification Experiment'' (μTORQUE) will be designed to fly as a secondary payload on an upper stage of a rocket used to deliver a satellite to GEO. The μTORQUE experiment will remain on the upper stage left in a GTO trajectory. After the primary satellite has been deployed into GEO, the μTORQUE experiment will deploy a microsatellite at the end of a 20 km long tether. Utilizing tether reeling and/or electrodynamic propulsion, the μTORQUE system will set the tether in rotation around the upper stage, accelerating the rotation until the tip velocity is approximately 400 m/s. The experiment will then release the microsatellite when the system is at its perigee, tossing the payload into a near-minimum-energy transfer to the Moon. The microsatellite can then utilize a Belbruno weak-boundary trajectory to transfer into a lunar orbit using only a few m/s of delta-V. Preliminary analyses indicate that the tether system could be mass-competitive with a chemical propellant system for the same mission. .
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