STS46_v_c_o_TPMBK (STS046-073-052)
“A 70mm handheld camera was used by the STS-46 crewmembers to capture closeup view of early operations with the Tethered Satellite System (TSS). The sphere can be seen moving away from the ring structure on the boom device in Atlantis’ cargo bay.”
From the STS-46 press kit:
“An exciting new capability for probing the space environment and conducting experiments will be demonstrated for the first time when the NASA/Italian Space Agency Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) is deployed during the STS-46 Space Shuttle flight. The reusable Tethered Satellite System is made up of a
satellite attached to the Shuttle orbiter by a super strong cord which will be reeled into space from the Shuttle's cargo bay. When the satellite on its cord, or tether, is deployed to about 12 miles above the orbiter, TSS-1 will be the longest structure ever flown in space.
Operating the tethered system is a bit like trolling for fish in a lake or the ocean. But the potential "catch" is valuable data that may yield scientific insights from the vast sea of space. For the TSS-1 mission, the tether -- which looks like a 12-mile-long white bootlace -- will have electrically-conducting metal strands in its core. The conducting tether will generate electrical currents at a high voltage by the same basic principle as a standard electrical generator -- by converting mechanical energy (the Shuttle's more than 17,000-mile-an hour orbital motion) into electrical energy by passing a conductor through a magnetic field (the Earth's magnetic field lines).
TSS-1 scientific instruments, mounted in the Shuttle cargo bay, the middeck and on the satellite, will allow scientists to examine the electrodynamics of the conducting tether system, as well as clarify their understanding of physical processes in the ionized plasma of the near-Earth space environment.
Once the investigations are concluded, it is planned to reel the satellite back into the cargo bay and stow it until after the Shuttle lands.
The TSS-1 mission will be the first step toward several potential future uses for tethers in space now being evaluated by scientists and engineers. One possible application is using long conducting tethers to generate electrical power for Space Station Freedom or other orbiting bodies. Conversely, by expending electrical power to reverse the current flow into a tether, the system can be placed in an "electric motor" mode to generate thrust for orbit maintenance. Tethers also may be used to raise or lower spacecraft orbits. This could be achieved by releasing a tethered body from a primary spacecraft, thereby transferring momentum (and imparting motion) to the spacecraft. Another potential application is the creation of artificial gravity by rotating two or more masses on a tether, much like a set of bolas.
Downward deployment (toward Earth) could place a satellite in regions of the atmosphere that have been difficult to study because they lie above the range of high-altitude balloons and below the minimum altitude of free-flying satellites. Deploying a tethered satellite downward from the Shuttle also could make possible aerodynamic and wind tunnel type testing in the region 50 to 75 nautical miles above the Earth.”
At:
spacepresskit.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/sts-46.pdf
Credit: spacepresskit/wordpress website
Reality:
“TSS deployment was also delayed one day because of EURECA. During TSS deployment, the satellite reached a maximum distance of only 840 feet (256 meters) from orbiter instead of planned 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) because of a jammed tether line. After numerous attempts over several days to free the tether, TSS operations were curtailed and satellite was stowed for return to Earth.”
Above from/at:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archiv...
STS46_v_c_o_TPMBK (STS046-073-052)
“A 70mm handheld camera was used by the STS-46 crewmembers to capture closeup view of early operations with the Tethered Satellite System (TSS). The sphere can be seen moving away from the ring structure on the boom device in Atlantis’ cargo bay.”
From the STS-46 press kit:
“An exciting new capability for probing the space environment and conducting experiments will be demonstrated for the first time when the NASA/Italian Space Agency Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) is deployed during the STS-46 Space Shuttle flight. The reusable Tethered Satellite System is made up of a
satellite attached to the Shuttle orbiter by a super strong cord which will be reeled into space from the Shuttle's cargo bay. When the satellite on its cord, or tether, is deployed to about 12 miles above the orbiter, TSS-1 will be the longest structure ever flown in space.
Operating the tethered system is a bit like trolling for fish in a lake or the ocean. But the potential "catch" is valuable data that may yield scientific insights from the vast sea of space. For the TSS-1 mission, the tether -- which looks like a 12-mile-long white bootlace -- will have electrically-conducting metal strands in its core. The conducting tether will generate electrical currents at a high voltage by the same basic principle as a standard electrical generator -- by converting mechanical energy (the Shuttle's more than 17,000-mile-an hour orbital motion) into electrical energy by passing a conductor through a magnetic field (the Earth's magnetic field lines).
TSS-1 scientific instruments, mounted in the Shuttle cargo bay, the middeck and on the satellite, will allow scientists to examine the electrodynamics of the conducting tether system, as well as clarify their understanding of physical processes in the ionized plasma of the near-Earth space environment.
Once the investigations are concluded, it is planned to reel the satellite back into the cargo bay and stow it until after the Shuttle lands.
The TSS-1 mission will be the first step toward several potential future uses for tethers in space now being evaluated by scientists and engineers. One possible application is using long conducting tethers to generate electrical power for Space Station Freedom or other orbiting bodies. Conversely, by expending electrical power to reverse the current flow into a tether, the system can be placed in an "electric motor" mode to generate thrust for orbit maintenance. Tethers also may be used to raise or lower spacecraft orbits. This could be achieved by releasing a tethered body from a primary spacecraft, thereby transferring momentum (and imparting motion) to the spacecraft. Another potential application is the creation of artificial gravity by rotating two or more masses on a tether, much like a set of bolas.
Downward deployment (toward Earth) could place a satellite in regions of the atmosphere that have been difficult to study because they lie above the range of high-altitude balloons and below the minimum altitude of free-flying satellites. Deploying a tethered satellite downward from the Shuttle also could make possible aerodynamic and wind tunnel type testing in the region 50 to 75 nautical miles above the Earth.”
At:
spacepresskit.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/sts-46.pdf
Credit: spacepresskit/wordpress website
Reality:
“TSS deployment was also delayed one day because of EURECA. During TSS deployment, the satellite reached a maximum distance of only 840 feet (256 meters) from orbiter instead of planned 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) because of a jammed tether line. After numerous attempts over several days to free the tether, TSS operations were curtailed and satellite was stowed for return to Earth.”
Above from/at:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archiv...