Applications for Motorised Momentum Exchange Tethers

Abstract eng:
This paper discusses a range of applications for motorised momentum exchange tethers in space, and attempts to explain some of the basic dynamics of such systems when considered for payload raising and lowering and in particular for interplanetary payload exchange, with the Earth-Moon system as a preliminary example. The importance of physical symmetry will be emphasised, and it will be shown how this leads to symmetry at a larger, mission, scale and how this can be very usefully exploited for efficient mission architecture design. Having established the motorised tether as a potential contender for environmentally sensitive space flight, extensions to the concept into two dimensions will be discussed, in order to confirm some fundamental steps that are required to create ODE-based models for two-dimensional space web structures. Applications for space webs will be suggested, including spaced based solar power reflectors, solar insolation shields, manufacturing platforms, storage areas, and large high-precision structures needed for scientific instruments. The paper continues with a forward look into a new application, currently under development by the author and others in which motorised tether elements and two-dimensional webs can be applied to the debris clearance problem in LEO. Finally, a possible solution will be summarised to aspects of the dynamic instability problem encountered in spinning tethers by means of inertial parametric excitation. The paper will conclude with some speculations for development in this area.

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