AbstractSpace vehicles, fit to ply between space objects and to transport hundreds of tons, will be necessary for research expeditions to planets and for asteroids materials supply to future space settlements, factories and satellite solar power stations. The means of creating such sail “liners” are discussed in the paper. The liner's solar sail area is dozens to hundreds of km2. The sail is produced by combining in line small standard controlled units assembled or deployed in space. The equations of motion and sail control are considered. It is shown how superlight rotating reflectors, investigated by the author before, could be used to construct a sail. Another construction may be obtained by means of connecting stiff framework square reflectors and can be easily realized. Using deployable tubes made of composite straps will essentially lighten the square unit framework. Commercially available 4-μm thick aluminized mylar film and considerably thinner film may be used, and its mass will be most of the sail mass. Assembling of such a sail may be carried out on the orbiting assembling station.
Space sail liner
Acta Astronautica ; 9 , 6-7 ; 359-364
1981-12-21
6 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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