Seminar (17MES86) Titled

“SKYHOOK”

A Seminar submitted to

Visvesvaraya Technological University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the award of degree of

Bachelor of Engineering
in
Mechanical Engineering
Submitted by

Name MOHSIN SHAIKH

USN 1KS17ME042

Semester VIII

Section ‘A’

Department of Mechanical Engineering

K S INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
No.14, Raghuvanahalli, Kanakapura Main Road, Bangalore – 560109

2020 – 2021
 K S INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
No.14, Raghuvanahalli, Kanakapura Main Road, Bangalore – 560109

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Certificate
This is to certify that the Seminar-17MES86 entitled “SKYHOOK” is a bonafide work carried

out by

Name: MOHSIN SHAIKH

USN: 1KS17ME042

in partial fulfillment for the award of Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering of

the Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum during the year 2020–2021. It is certified

that all corrections/suggestions indicated for internal assessment have been incorporated in the

report deposited in the departmental library. The project report has been approved as it satisfies

the academic requirement in respect of project work prescribed for the Degree.

Signature of Student Signature of Coordinator Signature of HOD

Date:

Place: BANGALORE
I
 K S INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
No.14, Raghuvanahalli, Kanakapura Main Road, Bangalore – 560109

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Declaration
I, MOHSIN SHAIKH USN : 1KS17ME042 the student of Eighth semester B.E, at the

Department of Mechanical Engineering, K S Institute of Technology, Bangalore declare that

the Seminar-17MES86 entitled “SKYHOOK” the original work has been carried out by me and

submitted in partial fulfillment of the course requirements for the award of degree in Bachelor of

Engineering in Mechanical Engineering of Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum

during the academic year 2020 -2021.

Place : Bangalore

Date :

II
 ABSTRACT
SKYHOOK is a futuristic megastructure which is an orbiting platform which extends a tether
down towards the Earth, enabling the transportation of payloads to orbit by cable car, instead of by
rocket. The skyhook concept is attractive, as it offers the potential for enormous reductions in
Earth to orbit transportation costs, both the geostationary and rotating skyhooks proposed in the
past have been found to be infeasible due to excessive strength to weight ratio required for the
tether material. A Skyhook is simply a rotating satellite with a very long tether on one-side and a
smaller tether with a counterweight on-the-other. A spacecraft attaches to the long tether side and
gets flung out into space by the rotation.

III
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Any achievement, be it scholastic or otherwise does not depend solely on the individual
efforts but on the guidance, encouragement and cooperation of intellectuals, elders and friends. A
number of personalities, in their own capacities have helped me in carrying out this seminar work.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all.

I also extend my sense of gratitude and sincere thanks to Dr. K.V.A. Balaji, CEO,
K.S. Group of Institutions Bangalore, for their constant encouragement and support.

I would like to thank Dr. Dilip Kumar. K, Principal/Director, K.S. Institute of Technology,
Bangalore for their timely advice on the academics and regular assistance throughout our semester.

I am greatly indebted to Prof. Umashankar M., Head of Department, Mechanical

Engineering who has been inspiring and has guided me towards becoming technically more
competent, & also for having taken the pains to provide us the necessary facility.

I am deeply appreciative of the valuable suggestions given me at various stages during the
course of the effects by the coordinator, Dr. Nagaprasad K S, Associate Professor, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, KSIT, Bangalore. I am grateful for his help in the preparation of this
manuscript. I also express our thanks to the screening committee for their valuable suggestions.

I also extend my sense of gratitude and sincere thanks to all the teachers for their constant
encouragement and support.

Last but not the least I pay my respect and love to my beloved Parents and all other
family members and friends for their love and encouragement towards the completion of work.

IV
 CONTENTS
Page
Chapter Name
No.
Certificate I
Declaration II
Abstract III
Acknowledgement IV
List of Figures Fill
List of Tables Fill
List of Symbols used Fill
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 SPACE ELEVATOR 1
1.2 SKYHOOK 3
1.2 1.2.1 Rotating Skyhook 4
1.2.2 Non-Rotation Skyhook 5
1.3 PROS AND CONS 6
1.3.1 Pros 6
1.3.2 Cons 6
2 LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 The Future: Space Elevators Seem Feasible 7

2.2 Space Access for Future Planetary Science Missions. 8

2.3 Hypersonic Airplane Space Tether Orbital Launch System 9

Hypersonic Airplane Space Tether Orbital Launch System
2.4 10
PHASE II
3 COMPONENTS/PROCESS 12
3.1 SPACE TETHERS 12
3.2 COUNTER WEIGHT 15
3.3 DOCKING PORT 15
4 WORKING 17
REFERENCES 19
 LIST OF FIGURES
Sl. Page
Figure Description
No No.
1 1.1 Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky 1
2 1.2 Space Elevator 2
3 1.3 Basic Representation of a Skyhook 3
4 1.4 A rotating Skyhook as first proposed by H. Moravec in 1977 4
5 1.5 A non-rotating Skyhook for Earth as first proposed by E. Sarmont in 1990 5
6 3.1 Components of a Skyhook 12
7 4.1 Working of a Skyhook 17
8 4.2 HASTOL Architecture 18

LIST OF TABLES
Sl. Page
Table Description
No No.

1 3.1 Material Selection for a Space Tether 14

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CHAPTER 1.0

INTRODUCTION
Space travel is one of the most expensive and difficult projects conducted throughout the world. It
is so complicated that it takes years of immense training, development, fabrication and billions of
dollars to put a man in space. The main area where all the money is spent in transporting the
payload outside the earth's atmosphere into its orbit or into deep space. This is because the Escape
Velocity of the Earth is 1225 Km/hr or 33 Mach. The mass of the fuel used is 91% of the total
mass of the rocket while the payload comprises just 6% of the total mass. Many Aerospace
companies like SpaceX are coming up with new ways like Reusable Rockets to make transporting
payload into space cheaper. But there is a concept of a mega structure that is based on simple laws
of physics and can be achieved with the amount of technological advancements we have made so
far. This is the Sky-Hook. This concept has originated from the very idea of a popular Sci-fi
megastructure, The Space Elevator.

1.1 SPACE ELEVATOR

A space elevator is a system for lifting payloads, and eventually people, from the Earth’s surface
into space. It consists of a 1000km tether balanced about a node in geosynchronous orbit (GEO)
and reaching down to an anchor point on Earth. Electrically powered spacecraft, called tether
climbers, travel up or down the tether at far lower costs than using rockets. The concept of Space
Elevator was given by none other than one of the founding fathers of modern Rocket Science,
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky in 1895. Since then there have been numerous studies on
this concept which have been published.

Fig. 1.1 Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky

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Fig. 1.2 Space Elevator

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1.2 SKYHOOK
A skyhook is a proposed momentum exchange tether that aims to reduce the cost of placing
payloads into low Earth orbit. A heavy orbiting station is connected to a cable which extends
down towards the upper atmosphere. Payloads, which are much lighter than the station, are
hooked to the end of the cable as it passes, and are then flung into orbit by rotation of the cable
around the center of mass. A skyhook differs from a geostationary orbit space elevator in that a
skyhook would be much shorter and would not come in contact with the surface of the Earth. A
skyhook would require a suborbital launch vehicle to reach its lower end, while a space elevator
would not. The Skyhook Comprises 3 main parts. A Space Tether, a Counter Weight, and a
Docking Port.

Fig.1.3 Basic Representation of a Skyhook

There are two types of Skyhooks proposed by two different scientists. One being the Rotating
Type and the other Non-Rotating or Stationary Type.

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1.2.1 Rotating Skyhook

By rotating the tether around the orbiting center of mass in a direction opposite to the orbital
motion, the speed of the hook relative to the ground can be reduced. This reduces the required
strength of the tether, and makes coupling easier.

The rotation of the tether can be made to exactly match the orbital speed (around 7–8 km/s). In
this configuration, the hook would trace out a path similar to a cardioid. From the point of view of
the ground, the hook would appear to descend almost vertically, come to a halt, and then ascend
again. This configuration minimises aerodynamic drag, and thus allows the hook to descend deep
into the atmosphere. However, according to the HASTOL study, a skyhook of this kind in Earth
orbit would require a very large counterweight, on the order of 1000–2000 times the mass of the
payload, and the tether would need to be mechanically reeled in after collecting each payload in
order to maintain synchronization between the tether rotation and its orbit.

Fig.1.4 A rotating Skyhook as first proposed by H. Moravec in 1977

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1.2.2 Non-Rotating Skyhook

A non-rotating skyhook is a vertically oriented, gravity-gradient-stabilized tether whose lower
endpoint would not reach the surface of the planet it is orbiting. As a result, it would appear to be
hanging from the sky, hence the name skyhook.

In 1990, E. Sarmont proposed using a non-rotating skyhook as part of a space transportation

system. Sub-orbital launch vehicles would fly to the bottom end of the tether, and spacecraft
bound for higher orbit or returning from higher orbit would use the upper end of the tether. He
expanded on the idea in a second paper published in 1994. Other scientists and engineers have
investigated and added to the concept.

Fig.1.5 A non-rotating Skyhook for Earth as first proposed by E. Sarmont in 1990

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1.3 PROS AND CONS

1.3.1 PROS
● The cost of Space Missions will be reduced drastically due to the use of specialized
reusable spacecraft which use less amounts of fuels.
● Larger Payloads can be launched into space with a lesser mass of fuels.
● Easier commutation between the earth and a potential colonized planet in the future.
● Can open doors for human expansion is the Solar System, hence exposing us to vast
amounts of resources.
● The concept is simple, just relying on general laws of physics.

1.3.2 CONS
● The Technology might seem simple but building a 1000 Kms long cable is a seriously
challenging task given the amount of resources available to us today.
● There are potential threats to the megastructure from projectiles from outer space like
space debris or meteorites.
● The math involved should be carefully done as the time window between the launch of the
vehicle and its docking will have to happen in a few minutes. If the docking maneuver fails
the whole mission fails.
● Regular maintenance of the Skyhook will be a risky and tedious task.

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CHAPTER 2.0

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The Future: Space Elevators Seem Feasible

A space elevator is a system for lifting payloads, and eventually people, from the Earth’s surface
into space. It consists of a 100,000km tether balanced about a node in geosynchronous orbit
(GEO) and reaching down to an anchor point on Earth. Electrically powered spacecraft, called
tether climbers, travel up or down the tether at far lower costs than using rockets [$500/kg].

The value and benefit of developing a space elevator infrastructure is even greater than early
estimates, as it will change our approach to operations in space. Low cost, safe, reliable and
flexible delivery of payloads to GEO and beyond could create an “off-planet” environment filled
with opportunities ranging from commercial space systems to exploration of the solar system.

This cosmic study summary is presented in this paper as developed for the International Academy
of Astronautics. The study provided a “ten year look,” after the Dr. Edwards book, at the
development of ideas and concepts that have increased a space elevator’s probability of
development. Dr Edwards first published his approach in 2000, inside NASA’s research
organization, and showed the world that a space elevator could be built. This study, with its 41
contributing authors and five editors, expanded upon recent innovative ideas that increase the
credibility of the concept. These innovative approaches to engineering challenges have surfaced
because there is a tremendous demand to have $500/kg launch costs to GEO. This paper presents
an overview of the current thinking on an achievable space elevator as discussed in the study
report. In addition to showing how to lower the risk, it enhances the understanding of a viable
approach to an infrastructure for space that would be routine, inexpensive, safe, reliable,
inexpensive, and possible within 30 years.

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2.2 Space Access for Future Planetary Science Missions.

Planetary science requires increasingly elaborate experiments. Improved launch efficiency allows
more ambitious missions to be undertaken, with larger propulsion systems to deliver more massive
experiments to the planet of interest with sufficient propellant for soft landing on the planet
surface. The renewed enthusiasm of national space programs for a return to the moon could
provide the incentive for construction of an orbital skyhook to provide efficient transport to and
from the moon. This would make it possible to conduct astronomical observations from the moon
with a sensitivity far greater than is possible from Earth, and to exploit lunar orbit as a base for
launching future planetary science missions.

Proposals for a momentum transfer based launch system are not new. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky,
credited with the concept of multi-stage rocket vehicles, also proposed the orbital tower. Much
later Yuri Artsutanov inverted this idea to suggest a geostationary satellite with a counterweight
and a tether extending to the Earth’s surface. This so-called ‘space elevator’ was first published in
1960 in Komsomolskaya Pravda and later discovered independently in the US when the term
‘skyhook’ was coined. The structure was shown to be stable against the effects of lunar tidal
forces and payload motions, and functions by extracting energy from Earth rotation. The problem
is that no known material has sufficient strength to construct a space elevator in Earth orbit.

The orbital skyhook derives its advantage principally from using different propulsion technologies
in the various physical regimes experienced during a launch. The payload gains energy by
momentum transfer from the skyhook, with this energy being later repaid over an extended period.
This overcomes the large energy threshold associated with a launch by drawing from a repository
and replenishing it efficiently by electric propulsion.

The focus here is on skyhook configurations that allow access at a low speed relative to
the Earth. These can be accessed much more easily, but necessarily rotate rapidly to
counter the orbital velocity. This means centripetal force dominates the tension, making it
possible to obtain simple expressions for the skyhook mass properties. With a carbon fiber
tether the skyhook mass is about 4600 times greater than the endpoint mass, which
represents the maximum launch payload. The skyhook mass can be greatly reduced if a
stronger tether material were to become available.

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2.3 Hypersonic Airplane Space Tether Orbital Launch System

One of the major studies carried out on the concept of space tethers and skyhooks was by Phantom
Works Advanced Space and Communications which is a unit of The Boeing Company.

A number of alternate system configurations have been described that will allow hypersonic
air-breathing airplane technologies to be combined with orbiting space tether technologies to
produce a method of moving payloads from the surface of the Earth into Earth orbit without the
use of rockets, and without subjecting the payloads and passengers to high accelerations or high
risk. The resultant Hypersonic Airplane Space Tether Orbital Launch (HASTOL) system is
completely reusable and has the potential to drastically cut the cost of Earth-to-orbit space access.

Phase I of Boeing's Hypersonic Airplane Space Tether Orbital Launch (HASTOL) study,
published in 2000, proposed a 600 km-long tether, in an equatorial orbit at 610–700 km altitude,
rotating with a tip speed of 3.5 km/s. This would give the tip a ground speed of 3.6 km/s (Mach
10), which would be matched by a hypersonic airplane carrying the payload module, with transfer
at an altitude of 100 km. The tether would be made of existing commercially available materials:
mostly Spectra 2000 (a kind of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene), except for the outer 20
km which would be made of heat-resistant Zylon PBO. With a nominal payload mass of 14
tonnes, the Spectra/Zylon tether would weigh 1300 tonnes, or 90 times the mass of the payload.

The HASTOL System provides a system to deliver payloads to space with minimal reliance on
rocket propulsion
● Tether designs using existing materials can provide required strength at required thermal
loads .
● The Hoytether™ design provides a survivable tether concept for long duration operation.
● Issues to be addressed in future work include Grapple design refinement and payload
transfer logistics.

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2.4 Hypersonic Airplane Space Tether Orbital Launch System PHASE II

The Hypersonic Airplane Space Tether Orbital Launch (HASTOL) concept was originally
suggested by Dr. Robert L. Forward in the book, FUTURE MAGIC (Avon Books, New York,
1988). A "Rotovator", was described in this reference, as an 8,500-kilometer-long tether, in a
4,250 km altitude orbit, designed to reach down into the upper atmosphere three times per orbit
and match its grapple tip velocity with a Mach 3 airplane carrying a passenger capsule. With
recent improvements in tether materials (such as Spectra™ a high specific strength polymer) and
continuing research in high velocity aircraft, the HASTOL concept may become technically
feasible: a higher speed on the hypersonic airplane would allow a lower tip speed and a lighter
tether. Boeing, Tethers Unlimited, and the University of Maryland proposed an initial study of
such a HASTOL system to NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) in 1998. The resulting
studies have shown that there is a range of credible hypersonic aircraft velocities and tether tip
velocities where the HASTOL concept may become technically feasible.

The tether structure which will be used in the HASTOL Tether Boost Facility will be a long-life,
failsafe, interconnected multiline net structure called the Hoytether™. The Hoytether™ concept
was invented by Robert P. Hoyt while he was a graduate student working for Dr. Robert L.
Forward on a 1992 NASA study contract to design Failsafe Multiline Tether Structures for Space
Propulsion6 , and was given the now-trademarked name of Hoytether™ by Dr. Forward. The
failsafe feature7 of the Hoytether™ structure is illustrated in Figure 3. In Figure 3, the diameter of
the Hoytether™ has been greatly expanded compared to the length, which allows the details of the
Hoytether™ construction and operation to be seen, but badly distorts the angle between the
secondary lines and primary lines at their interconnection points. The interconnection angles in the
Figure 3 diagrams are 30-40 degrees, whereas in reality, the interconnection angle in a real
Hoytether™ is typically less than 5 degrees. It is this narrow interconnection angle, which has the
secondary lines running almost parallel to the primary lines, that allows the secondary lines to
quickly pick up the load from a cut primary line segment and put it back on the uncut segments of
the primary line, without passing the load on to the nearby primary lines.

The second phase of the HASTOL study, published in 2001, proposed increasing the intercept
airspeed to Mach 15–17, and increasing the intercept altitude to 150 km, which would reduce the
necessary tether mass by a factor of three. The higher speed would be achieved by using a reusable
rocket stage instead of a purely air-breathing aircraft. The study concluded that although there are
no "fundamental technical show-stoppers", substantial improvement in technology would be

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needed. In particular, there was concern that a bare Spectra 2000 tether would be rapidly eroded
by atomic oxygen; this component was given a technology readiness level of 2.

It has been analyzed that the present modular Hoytether™ design for the HASTOL system
assumes the use of presently available tether materials operating at high stress levels. We find that
of the 20 modules making up the HASTOL Hoytether™, 18 of them will never need replacement
in the estimated 30 year commercial operational lifetime of the facility. Of the two remaining two
modules, the longest, thinnest module at the grapple end of the facility will need replacement after
8.5 years, while the next longest, next thinnest module from to the grapple end will need
replacement in 15 years.

CHAPTER 3.0

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COMPONENTS/PROCESS

Fig 3.1 Components of a Skyhook

The Skyhook Comprises 3 main parts. These parts have important roles in the function of a
skyhook. They are
1. A Space Tether
2. Counter Weight
3. Docking Port

3.1 SPACE TETHERS

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A space tether is a long cable used to couple spacecraft together as they orbit the central body (i.e.
Earth). Tethers are usually made of thin strands of high-strength fibers such as Spectra or Kevlar.
Any space tethered system is intimately connected to the gravitational force field. Conducting
tethers offer the additional capability to interact with the magnetic and electrical force fields.

The tethered system demonstrates gravity gradient attitude control. This is a very low cost attitude
control system and if suitable for the mission, typically orients the system to within ±10 degrees of
the vertical, both in and out the orbit plane.

Because the space tether makes it possible to transfer energy and momentum from one object to
another, it can legitimately be called a form of space propulsion. There are two general categories
of tethers.

Momentum-exchange tethers (nonconductive tethers representing passive propulsion). They allow

momentum to be transferred between objects in space, such as two spacecraft (tethers may
redistribute momentum of a system from one body to another, but overall momentum is always
conserved). The principle is based on the gravity gradient force.

Two objects, separated by a distance but tied together by a tether, are “pulled” apart by the gravity
gradient force [this causes vertical (radial) alignment between the two objects]. Due to
irregularities in the central body's gravitational field, the nearly radially aligned tether system
actually librates, or oscillates, in a pendulum-like motion, about the system's center of mass. This
swinging motion may be used to raise or lower the orbit of a tandem system without using any
propellant.

The Materials used in the construction of a space tether must overcome all the challenges posed in
the extremities of outer space such as Exposure to dangerous electromagnetic radiations,
meteorites, space debris and the radiation in the ionosphere. The proposed materials for the
construction of a space tether are given below.

Material Density Stress Characteristic Specific Char.

limit length velocity velocit
ρ
y
σ Lc = σ/ρg Vs = √σ/ρ
(kg/m³)
Vc =
(GPa)
(km) (km/s)
√2σ/ρ

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(km/s)

Single-wall carbon nanotubes 2266 50 2200 4.7 6.6

(individual molecules
measured)

Aramid, polybenzoxazole 1340 5.9 450 2.1 3.0

(PBO) fiber ("Zylon")

Toray carbon fiber (T1000G) 1810 6.4 360 1.9 2.7

M5 fiber (planned values) 1700 9.5 570 2.4 3.3

M5 fiber (existing) 1700 5.7 340 1.8 2.6

Honeywell extended chain 970 3.0 316 1.8 2.5

polyethylene fiber (Spectra
2000)

DuPont Aramid fiber (Kevlar 1440 3.6 255 1.6 2.2

49)

Table 3.1 Material Selection for a Space Tether

3.2 COUNTER WEIGHT.

Counter Weight used in a skyhook is located on the space tether. It provides the Skyhook centre of
gravity to rotate on its axis. In case of a Non-Rotating skyhook the Counter weight provides the

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skyhook with enough mass and support to stay in the Geo-Stationary orbit. The Counter weight is
the most important part in any momentum exchange tether system as it provides the momentum to
the arriving spacecraft to be flung into the required direction. The counter weight also consists of
propulsion systems which are used to restore any loss of momentum. These propulsion systems
can be electrical, magnetic or ignition type.

3.3 DOCKING PORT.

Docking and berthing of spacecraft is the joining of two space vehicles. This connection can be
temporary, or partially permanent such as for space station modules. Docking specifically refers to
the joining of two separate free-flying space vehicles. In the case of the Skyhook, the Docking
system is the most important part just like the heart in our circulation system. If the spacecraft
doesn't dock then the mission is deemed unsuccessful as the skyhook will not perform its function.

The process of docking an arriving spacecraft at the lower end of the non-rotating Skyhook starts
with the Skyhook in an elliptical orbit. The low point of this elliptical orbit, the perigee, is
selected so that the lower end of the Skyhook cable will be at an altitude of 185 km at that point in
the orbit. The altitude of the high point of the elliptical orbit, the apogee, is selected based on the
mass of the arriving spacecraft.

In addition to boosting the arriving spacecraft to the proper speed and altitude for rendezvous, the
sub-orbital launch vehicle for this flight will also need to time its take-off so that the arriving
spacecraft will rendezvous with the lower end of the Skyhook when the Skyhook is at the low
point of its orbit.

When the arriving spacecraft docks with the lower end of the Skyhook it will lower the center of
gravity of the total Skyhook system, thereby pulling the Skyhook down into a lower more circular
orbit. If the apogee altitude of the Skyhook’s initial elliptical orbit was properly selected, the
Skyhook will end up in a circular orbit after the arriving spacecraft has docked.

Upon completion of the docking maneuver, the Skyhook’s solar-powered ion propulsion system,
or electrodynamic propulsion system, is activated so as to start raising the orbital altitude of the
Skyhook back to its original altitude.

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What makes the Skyhook concept work is energy exchange. When the Skyhook is in its initial
elliptical orbit it is in a higher-energy orbit than the one it ends up in after the arriving spacecraft
docks with the lower end of the Skyhook. What happens is that the Skyhook gives the extra
energy of the higher elliptical orbit to the arriving suborbital spacecraft; a spacecraft that doesn’t
have enough energy to remain in orbit on its own. The end result is that the arriving spacecraft
gets an energy boost from the Skyhook that allows it to remain in orbit while the Skyhook gives
up energy and drops to a lower energy orbit. Before another arriving spacecraft can dock at the
lower end of the Skyhook, the Skyhook will need to use its high efficiency low thrust propulsion
system to raise itself back to the original higher-energy orbit.

CHAPTER 4.0
WORKING
The working of a skyhook is based on the simple laws of physics but high amounts of
mathematical accuracy is required.

● The Spacecraft or the Rocket must reach the Lower Earth Orbit.

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● As the Rotating Skyhook is continuously rotating due to the presence of a counterweight

there is a small time window of some seconds for the Space Vehicle to reach the exact
point where the Docking Maneuver can take place.
● Once the Space Vehicle is Docked or ‘Hooked’, the skyhook continues its rotary motion
due to the momentum it has acquired by continuous spinning.
● The Spacecraft is released when it reaches the required point hence creating a Catapult like
effect. This flings the rocket into the space in the required direction without the
requirement of huge amounts of fuel.
● There can be a loss of Momentum or slight displacement after each launch hence, certain
chemical or electric engines will be required to correct the tether’s position and
momentum.
● For the spaceships arriving to the earth they latch or dock to the skyhook in a similar way
during the launch but instead of increasing the momentum the skyhook will reduce the
speed of the arriving vehicle for a smoother landing.
● The loss of momentum over the course of time can set in. This can be rectified by the
function of propellers in the skyhook. These are usually solar powered, ignition, electrical
or magnetic types.

Fig.4.1 Working of a Skyhook

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Fig.4.2 HASTOL Architecture

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REFERENCES

● Sarmont, E. (26 May 1990). An Orbiting Skyhook: Affordable Access to Space.

International Space Development Conference (Anaheim California).
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2000). “Hypersonic Airplane Space Tether Orbital Launch System”. Research Grant No.
07600-018l Phase I Final Report (PDF). NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts.
● Dvorsky, G. (13 February 2013). “Why we’ll probably never build a space elevator”. com.
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Mechanics.
● Chen, Yi; Huang, Rui; Ren, Xianlin; He, Liping; He, Ye (2013). “History of the Tether
Concept and Tether Missions: A Review”. ISRN Astronomy and Astrophysics 2013.
doi:1155/2013/502973.
● Cosmo, M.; Lorenzini, E. (December 1997). Tethers in Space Handbook (PDF) (Third ed.).
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
● Sarmont, E. (October 1994). “How an Earth Orbiting Tether Makes Possible an Affordable
Earth-Moon Space Transportation System”. SAE 942120.
● Sarmont, E. (July 2014). “Affordable Access to Space: Basic Non-Rotating Skyhook with
Falcon 9 & Dragon” (PDF).
● Stasko, S; Flandro, G. “The Feasibility of an Earth Orbiting Tether Propulsion System”.
AIAA 2004-3901.
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 SKYHOOK 2020-2021

MSFC, Alabama
● https://skyhooksandspaceelevators.wordpress.com/
● https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19970027081/downloads/19970027081.pdf
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqwpQarrDwk&t=237s

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