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Tethering a new technologyIn a tethered-satellite system, two satellites travelling in different orbits are forced to circle the earth in the same time period. The lower satellite is dragged by the tether to a higher orbital speed, while the upper one tends to move higher. This generates a tension which maintains the system in a stable configuration; the tether is aligned with a radius projecting outward from the earth's center. Such a system has been demonstrated by the TSS-1 tethered satellite carried by the Space Shuttle's STS-46 mission. The dynamic and the electrodynamic behavior of the system at long tether lengths were not, however, evaluated due to system malfunctions.
Document ID
19930054198
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Stone, Nobie H.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Candidi, Maurizio
(CNR Ist. Fisica Spazio Interplanetario, Frascati, Italy)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
May 1, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: Aerospace America
Volume: 31
Issue: 5
ISSN: 0740-722X
Subject Category
Astronautics (General)
Accession Number
93A38195
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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