Simulating Space Tether Deployment on Earth for the YES2 Satellite
- Paper number
IAC-05-A2.1.09
- Author
Mr. Andrew Hyslop, Delta-Utec SRC, The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Prof. Carlo Menon, Simon Fraser University, Canada
- Year
2005
- Abstract
The Young Engineers Satellite (YES) 2 seeks to demonstrate the ability of a long space tether (32km of 0.5mm Dyneema) to re-enter a small payload that can be retrieved with its contents still intact. With a 30kg disposable system, the ’space mail’ concept could be used from the ISS to send experiments back to Earth without the need for expensive and heavy rockets. This tether momentum transfer and sling mission is ESA-sponsored and scheduled for a 2006 launch on a Soyuz Foton module.
To prove that the tether deployer system will function correctly, and evaluate/improve various parts of the design before launch, a testrig has been constructed. In space it is the gravity gradient that places the tether in tension and effectively ‘pulls’ the tether out of its storage cannister. This gravity gradient allows the tether to deploy passively, but since its effects are only significant over several kilometres it is impossible to directly simulate on Earth. Delta-Utec, with experience from the Tethered System Experiment and YES1, have constructed a tether winding machine and a deployment test rig with the help of University affiliates. The testrig allows the tether to be deployed with the aid of a space simulator – which accounts for complex gravity, heating, and drag effects. The velocity of deployment is emulated by a rotating motor, but the commanded speed is determined by the real time space simulator that takes the tension measurements from the rig and evaluates the resultant deployment dynamics.
The rig has been used to test the full deployment of the tether and the hardware and software was found to function successfully, with only a 0.9% divergence from target length and 0.2deg offset from the optimised trajectory. The inclusion of hardware in the loop caused only small deviations from results obtained in pure software simulations.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-05-A2.1.09.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.