This paper describes four potentially useful tether applications that are best suited to or even limited to small launch vehicles and their payloads. The first application uses a Small Expendable-tether Deployment System (SEDS) to deploy a 20-40 km tether which transfers momentum from the spent final stage to its payload. This de-orbits the stage and boosts the payload. The other concepts are endo-atmospheric applications specific to various kinds of boosters. In one, a large helicopter gently recovers a reusable booster while it is descending by parachute. Another improves the performance of a small single-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle, by lifting it by helicopter to an altitude of about 3 kilometers before ignition. The last tows an air-breathing launch vehicle to high speed behind a supersonic aircraft, to eliminate any need for low-speed propulsion on the launch vehicle.


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    Title :

    Some tether applications with small launch vehicles


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    AIAA/DARPA Meeting on Lightweight Satellite Systems ; 1987 ; Monterey, CA, United States


    Publication date :

    1988-01-01


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English