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Review of the ProSEDS Electrodynamic Tether Mission DevelopmentThe Propulsive Small Expendable Deployer System (ProSEDS) space experiment was ready to fly as a secondary payload on a Delta-II expendable launch vehicle in late March 2003. Concerns raised in February 2003 by the International Space Station resulted in the delay of the launch of ProSEDS. Issues associated with the delayed launch date and a change in starting altitude resulted in the cancellation of the mission. ProSEDS was intended to deploy a tether (5 km bare wire plus 10 km non-conducting Dyneema) from a Delta I1 second stage to achieve adequate drag thrust that would lower the orbit of the system over days as opposed to months due to atmospheric drag. It was also designed to utilize the tether-generated current to provide limited spacecraft power. Considerable effort and testing went in to developing the ProSEDS system by a dedicated team. Through this effort, important technological issues were identified and addressed and this presentation will discuss some of the important technical issues and hurdles that had to be addressed to successfully prepare for flight. It is intended that this information will be of use for future tether mission and experiment designers.
Document ID
20040085980
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Vaughn, Jason A.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Curtis, Leslie
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Gilchrist, Brian E.
(Michigan Univ. Ann Arbor, MI, United States)
Bilen, Sven
(Pennsylvania State Univ. University Park, PA, United States)
Lorenzini, Enrico
(Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Cambridge, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Subject Category
Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance
Meeting Information
Meeting: AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE 40th Joint Propulsion Conference
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: July 11, 2004
End Date: July 14, 2004
Sponsors: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., American Society for Electrical Engineers, American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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