The Role of Tethers on Space Station 6
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NASA Technical Memorandum NASA-TM-86519 19850025841 NASA TM -86519 ' . .,. THE ROLES OF TETHERS ON SPACE STATION By Georg von Tiesenhausen, Editor, MSFC James K. Harrison, MSFC Kenneth R. Kroll, JSC William O. Nobles, MMC Paul M. Siemers III, LaRC Dr. William J. Webster, GSFC October 1985 !; :; (J .••••_-, •.• ..)),~ t.~ I.. • t ('.- t..,; U.NGLEY RESEARCH GENTEP. LIBRARY, NASA I !'".:.::-lCli. VIRGINIA #.',. NI\SI\ National Aeronautics and Space Administration George C. Marshall Space Flight Center 1111111111111 1111 11111 111/111/111/11/1111/111 NF00627 MSFC· Form 3190 (Rev. Mey 1983) - •• ;wt... TECHNICAL REPORT STANDARD TITLE PAGE" 1. REPORT NO. GOVERNt.£NT ACCESSION NO. 3. RECIPIENT'S CATALOG NO. NASA TM -86519 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. REPORT DATE October 1985 The Role of Tethers on Space Station 6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE 7. AUTHOR(s). B. PERFORMING ORGANI ZATION REPOR r Tt Georg- von Tiesenhausen, Editor 9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. WORK UNI~ NO. George C. Marshall Space Flight Center 1 1. CONTRACT OR GRANT NO. Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama 35812 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~13. TYPE OF REPOR~ & PERIOD COVERED 12. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS Technical Memorandum National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington, D. C • 20546 14. SPONSORING AGENCY CODE 15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Prepared by: Program Development, MSFC; Space Power Technology Div., LeRC; High Speed Aerodynamics Division, LaRC; Solar Systems Exploration Div., JSC; Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics, GSFC; and Tether Project Office, MMC. 15. ABSTRACT This report describes the results of research and development that addressed the usefulness of tether applications in space, particularly for space station. A well organized and structured effort of considerable magnitude involving NASA, industry and academia have defined the engineering and technological requirements of space tethers and their broad range of economic and operational benefits. This report consolidates the work directed by seven NASA Field Centers and is structured to cover the general and specific roles of tethers in space as they apply to NASA's planned space station. This is followed by a description of tether systems and operation. The report closes with a summary of NASA's plans for tether applications in space for years to come. 17. KEY WORDS lB. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT Tether Applications Space Station Unclassified - Unlimited 19. SECURITY CLASSIF. (ol thla report) 20. SECURITY CLASSIF. (of thle p8Ce) 21. NO. OF PAGES 22. PRICE Unclassified Unclassified 154 NTIS MSFC - Form 3292 (May 19159) For sale by National Technlcal Information Service. Springfield. Virginia 2215~ FOREWORD By Ivan Bekey Director ,. Advanced Programs Office of Space Flight National Aeronautics and Space Administration The concept of using tethers in space emerged from science fiction to reality with the 1973 proposal by Giuseppe Colombo to fly a tethered sub satellite from the Shuttle Orbiter. We are now well into the development of such a project, which is .. a cooperative effort between NASA and Italy. The first flight of this Tethered Satellite System is scheduled for 1988 and will investigate electromagnetic interactions with the plasma around Earth using a 20 km conducting tether. In the dozen years since this proposal, the creative thinking of many scientists and engineers have discovered a broad range of tether applications ranging from generating electric power using the Earth's magnetic field, through provision of nano gravity or variable gravity laboratories, to deploying satellites into higher orbits without using propellants. The moon and planets, also have not escaped their atten tion, these applications including magnetic breaking at Jupiter, and. utilizing th~ momentum of Phobos and Deimos to supplement a transportation system between Mars surface and interplanetary trajectories. Back on Earth, the development of tether technology is progressing. Each NASA center with the help of industry and academia are studying specific tether applications. They have identified the technology requirements and in some cases have embarked on demonstration projects which will be flown on the Shuttle. These missions are in addition to the TSS program, and are necessary to prove tether physics, dynamics, systems, and operations. This will lay the groundwork for acceptance of tether applications in the future. NASA's leading new program today is the Space Station. This facility will offer unique opportunities for science, engineerinlZ, and commercial applications. It is only natural that tethers be considered as a means of enhancing or extending these applications. The NASA centers have been concentrating on identifying and defining tether applications which might be of most interest ot the Space Station. This document presents a summary of such stUdies, as well as outlines several applications which will require further study. My thanks go to Georg von Tiesenhausen and his Tether Applications Team which, over the past years, have provided NASA with a coherent development pro gram for this unique technology. Their efforts will certainly be rewarded because the eventual adoption and use of tethers in space is too broad and too powerful to be long ignored. €::::;~ Director, Advanced Programs Office of Space Flight ABOUT THE AUTHORS James K. Harrison is project engineer in the Orbital Support Systems Group of the Advanced Systems Office, Program Development, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. He is responsible for the development of the space disposable tether system, for the engineering design and costing of several tether applications to space station and for the definition of an early tethered flight experiment. Kenneth R. Kroll is project engineer in the Systems Branch, Avionics Systems Division of the Engineering Directorate, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. He is responsible for planning tether applications using micro gravity systems and has been defining a tethered refueling facility for a space station. Paul M. Siemers III is project engineer in the Aerothermodynamics Branch, Space Systems Division, Langley Research Center. He is responsible for all tether applications systems technology planning. He is also developing a shuttle tethered aerothermodynamic research facility which would use the upper atmosphere as a hypersonic wind tunnel. Georg von Tiesenhausen is Assistant to the Director, Advanced Systems Office, Program Development, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. He is responsible for overall planning, coordination and scheduling of tether application studies within NASA under the direction of NASA Headquarters-OSF, Ivan Bekey. He is also con ducting studies on several tether application concepts including tethered platforms and early tethered payload demonstration mission definitions. Dr. William J. Webster, Jr. is a scientist in the Geophysics Branch, Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics of the Space and Earth Sciences Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center. He is responsible for the planning of science and applications missions for NASA using tether systems. In addition he is involved in the development of the comet rendezvous and asteroid flyby mission development and in the Mars observer :nission. William Nobles has been a member of the Martin Marietta team for "Space Sta tion Architecture Definition Studies." He served as a representative to the joint NASA/Industry working group on Space Station configuration definition. During the past IS-months he has been Program Manager for the Marshall Space Flight Center study contract for "Selected Tether Applications in Space." He is currently Manager for Science Integration for the Tethered Satellite System. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page FOREWORD ...•..........•.•...........•...............••..•...•.....•......••. 1.0 INTRODUCTION.................... ........ ................ ............. 1 2.0 THE BASIC ROLES OF TETHERS IN SPACE .•••••.•.•.••· ••••••.•••••••••• 2 2. 1 General... 2 2.2 Tethered Payload Deployment....................................... 2 2. 3 Electrodynamic Power and Force Generation......................... 25 2.4 Tethered Platforms and Constellations............................... 27 3.0 SPECIFIC ROLES OF TETHERS ON SPACE STATION..................... 33 3.1 Tethers as Regulators of the Space Station Momentum Budget....... 34 3.1.1 Tethered Orbiter Deployment Coupled With Tethered Spacecraft Launches......................................... 34 3.2 Tethers as Regulators of the Space Station Energy Budget •••..••.. 44 3.2.1 Electrodynamic Power /Thrust Generation..................... 44 3. 2.2 Electrodynamic Power Generation Coupled With Tethered Orbiter Deployment ......................................... 62 3.3 Tethered Platforms as Solution to Incompatibility of Space Station Functions................................................... 64 3. 3. 1 Tethered Platform Characteristics............................ 64 3.3.2 Propellant Resupply Depot................................... 66 3.3.3 Low Gravity and Microgravity Laboratories................... 70 3. 3.4 Sensor Platforms ............................................ 75 3.3.5 Operations Platforms......................................... 77 3.3.6 Platform Impacts on Space Station ••••..•.••••••••••••..•.••. 78 3.4 Tethers in Support of Scientific Research........................... 80 3.4.1 Space Plasma Observations................................... 82 3.4.2 Upper Atmosphere Observations............................. 83 3. 4. 3 Magnetospheric