The Momentum Exchange/Electrodynamic Reboost (MXER) tether facility is a transformational concept that significantly reduces the fuel requirements (and associated costs) in transferring payloads above low earth orbit (LEO). Facility reboost is accomplished without propellant by driving current against a voltage created by a conducting tether's interaction with the Earth's magnetic field (electrodynamic reboost). This system can be used for transferring a variety of payloads (scientific, cargo, and human space vehicles) to multiple destinations including geosynchronous transfer orbit, the Moon or Mars. MXER technology advancement requires development in two key areas: survivable, high tensile strength non-conducting tethers and reliable, lightweight payload catch/release mechanisms. Fundamental requirements associated with the MXER non-conducting strength tether and catch mechanism designs will be presented. Key requirements for the tether design include high specific-strength (tensile strength/material density), material survivability to the space environment (atomic oxygen and ultraviolet radiation), and structural survivability to micrometeoroid/orbital debris (MM/OD) impacts. The driving mechanism key,gequirements include low mass-to-capture-volume ratio, positional and velocity error tolerance, and operational reliability. Preliminary tether and catch mechanism design criteria are presented, which have been used as guidelines to "screen" and down-select initial concepts. Candidate tether materials and protective coatings are summarized along with their performance in simulated space environments (e.g., oxygen plasma, thermal cycling). A candidate catch mechanism design concept is presented along with examples of demonstration hardware.


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    Title :

    Design Concept for a Reusable/Propellantless MXER Tether Space Transportation System


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    Spacecraft Propulsion Joint Meeting ; 2005 ; Monterey, CA, United States
    53rd JANNAF Propulsion Meeting ; 2005 ; Monterey, CA, United States
    Chemica Propulsion Information Agency ; 2005 ; Monterey, CA, United States


    Publication date :

    2005-01-01


    Type of media :

    Preprint


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




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