Report of the Technology and Test Panel

The state of technology relative to the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) was reviewed. The technology areas which could benefit from the TSS were defined. To support TSS design studies it is necessary to develop tether dynamic model computer codes for definition of mission and tether requirements. Present major codes are very elaborate, expensive to run, and not very user friendly. An additional technology concern was related to the manufacturing of tethers. The development of complex tethers (nonconducting-taper/double taper long 100 km, conducting-embedded conduction, fiber optics, and superconducting) and their applications to space stations requires the development of manufacturing capabilities for both Earth-based as well as space-based systems.