SPACE TETHER

Presented by:-

Abhishek Saurav
2211016101
CONTEN TS

 Introduction
 Uses
 Technical difficulties
 Construction
 Control and modelling
INTRODUCTION

• A space tether is a long cable used to couple spacecraft to each

other or to other masses, such as a spent booster rocket, space
station, or an asteroid.
• These are usually made of thin strands of high-strength fibers
or conducting wires.
• The tether can provide a mechanical connection between two
space objects that enables the transfer of energy and
momentum from one object to the other, and as a result they
can be used to provide space propulsion without consuming
propellant.
• Additionally, conductive space tethers can interact with the
Earth's magnetic field and ionospheric plasma to generate
thrust or drag forces without expending propellant.
• 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.
SPACE TETHERS
USES
Electrodynamic tethers (EDTs)

-These are long conducting wires, such as one deployed from a tether

satellite, which can operate on electromagnetic principles
as generators, by converting their kinetic energy to electrical energy,
or as motors, converting electrical energy to kinetic energy. Electric
potential is generated across a conductive tether by its motion
through a planet's magnetic field.
-A number of missions have demonstrated electrodynamic tethers in
space, most notably the TSS-1, TSS-1R, and Plasma Motor
Generator (PMG) experiments.
-The interaction of the tether system with the magnetosphere can be
used in the design of the system to act either as an “electrodynamic
power or thrust system” to boost the orbit of the S/C; or it may be
used to act as an “electrodynamic drag system” to lower the orbit of
the S/C.
- The direction of the current flow in or out of an electrodynamic
tether system determines if the interaction contributes to drag or to
propulsion
Momentum exchange tether
 A momentum exchange tether is a kind of space tether that could theoretically be
used as a launch system, or to change spacecraft orbits.
 They create a controlled force on the end-masses of the system due to the pseudo-force
known as centrifugal force. While the tether system rotates, the objects on either end of
the tether will experience continuous acceleration; the magnitude of the acceleration
depends on the length of the tether and the rotation rate.
 Momentum exchange occurs when an end body is released during the rotation. The
transfer of momentum to the released object will cause the rotating tether to lose energy,
and thus lose velocity and altitude. However, using electrodynamic tether thrusting,
or ion propulsion the system can then re-boost itself with little or no expenditure of
consumable reaction mass.
 A non-rotating tether is a rotating tether that rotates exactly once per orbit so that it
always has a vertical orientation relative to the parent body. A spacecraft arriving at the
lower end of this tether, or departing from the upper end, will take momentum from the
tether, while a spacecraft departing from the lower end of the tether, or arriving at the
upper end, will add momentum to the tether.
 In some cases momentum exchange systems are intended to run as balanced
transportation schemes where an arriving spacecraft or payload is exchanged with one
leaving with the same speed and mass, and then no net change in momentum or angular
momentum occurs.
Tethered formation flying

 Spacecraft formation flight is becoming a key research area, where distributed

computation and decentralized control schemes, as well as information flows between
elements, are explored.
 One such example includes stellar interferometers in which multiple apertures, in
controlled formation, collect the light for coherent interferometric beam combinations,
thereby achieving a fine angular resolution comparable to a large monolithic
aperture telescope.
 The possible architectures of space borne interferometers include a structurally connected
interferometer (SCI) Space Interferometry Mission, which allows for very limited baseline
changes, and a separated spacecraft interferometer (SSI) Terrestrial Planet Finder, where
the usage of propellant can be prohibitively expensive.
 A tethered-formation flight interferometer represents a balance between SCI and SSI.
Such a system is currently being considered for NASA's Submillimeter Probe of the
Evolution of Cosmic Structure (SPECS) mission.
  The dynamics of SSI are coupled by the definition of relative attitude whereas tethered
formation spacecraft exhibit inherently coupled nonlinear dynamics.
Electric sail
 An electric sail is a proposed form of spacecraft propulsion using the dynamic
pressure of the solar wind as a source of thrust. It creates a "virtual" sail by
using small wires to form an electric field that deflects solar wind protons and
extracts their momentum. The idea was first conceptualised by Pekka
Janhunen in 2006 at the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
 The electric sail consists of a number of thin, long and conducting tethers which
are kept in a high positive potential by an onboard electron gun.
  The positively charged tethers deflect solar wind protons, thus extracting
momentum from them. Simultaneously they attract electrons from the solar
wind plasma, producing an electron current. The electron gun compensates for
the arriving electric current.
 One way to deploy the tethers is to rotate the spacecraft, using centrifugal
force to keep them stretched. By fine-tuning the potentials of individual tethers
and thus the solar wind force individually, the spacecraft's attitude can be
controlled.
Universal Orbital Support System
 A concept for providing space-based support to things suspended
above an astronomical object. It is envisioned as a type of non-
rotating tethered satellite system.
 The orbital system is a coupled mass system wherein the upper
supporting mass (A) is placed in an orbit around a given celestial
body such that it can support a suspended mass (B) at a specific
height above the surface of the celestial body, but lower than (A).
The relationship between (A) and (B) is such that it (A) moves
higher as (B) is lowered towards the surface, the distance is
related as an inverse proportion of their masses.
Skyhook

 A skyhook is a proposed momentum exchange

tether that aims to reduce the cost of placing
payloads into space. 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 centre of mass. The station can then be
reboosted to its original altitude by electromagnetic
propulsion, rocket propulsion, or by deorbiting
another object equal in mass to the payload.
 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.
 Construction:
- Tether properties and materials are dependent on the
application.
- To achieve maximum performance and low cost, tethers
would need to be made of materials with the combination of
high strength or electrical conductivity and low density. All
space tethers are susceptible to space debris or micrometeroids.
Therefore, system designers will need to decide whether or not
a protective coating is needed, including relative
to UV and atomic oxygen.
- For applications that exert high tensile forces on the tether,
the materials need to be strong and light. Some current tether
designs use crystalline plastics such as ultra high molecular
weight polyethylene, aramid or carbon fiber.
- For some applications, the tensile force on the tether is
projected to be less than 15 lbs
 - Material selection in this case depends on the purpose of the
mission and design constraints. Electrodynamic tethers, such
as the one used on TSS-1R, may use thin copper wires for high
conductivity.
 Potential tether / elevator materials
Material Density  Stress limit  Characteristic Specific Char. velocity 
ρ  σ  length  velocity  Vc = √2σ/ρ 
(kg/m³) (GPa) Lc = σ/ρg  Vs = √σ/ρ  (km/s)
(km) (km/s)
Single- 2266 50 2200 4.7 6.6
wall carbon
nanotubes 
Aramid, 1340 5.9 450 2.1 3.0
polybenzoxazo
le (PBO) fiber

Toray carbon 1810 6.4 360 1.9 2.7

fiber
(T1000G)
M5 fiber  1700 5.7 340 1.8 2.6
Honeywell 970 3.0 316 1.8 2.5
extended
chain
polyethylene
fiber
DuPont 1440 3.6 255 1.6 2.2
Aramid fiber
 Control and modelling:
Pendular motion instability:
- Electrodynamic tethers deployed along the local vertical suffer from
dynamical instability causes the tether vibration amplitude to build up
under the action of electromagnetic interaction.
- Over a few weeks, electrodynamic tethers in Earth orbit might build up
vibrations in many modes, as their orbit interacts with irregularities in
magnetic and gravitational fields.
Surges:
- Unexpected electrostatic discharges have cut tethers ,damaged
electronics, and welded tether handling machinery.
- It may be that the Earth's magnetic field is not as homogeneous as some
engineers have believed.
Vibrations:
- Computer models frequently show tethers can snap due to vibration.
- Mechanical tether-handling equipment is often surprisingly heavy, with
complex controls to damp vibrations. - The one ton climber proposed by
Dr. Brad Edwards for his Space Elevator may detect and suppress most
vibrations by changing speed and direction.
- The climber can also repair or augment a tether by spinning more
strands.
Thank you