Moon & Mars Orbiting Spinning Tether Transport - Tethers Unlimited

Appendix F Tether Boost Facility Design Final Report1 Summary and IntroductionThe Boeing Company is pleased to submit this Tether Boost Facility Final Report toTethers Unlimited, Inc., Lynnwood, Washington, in compliance with SubcontractNumber MMOSTT-01, in support of TUI’s prime contract from Universities SpaceResearch Association (USRA), sponsored by the NASA Institute for AdvancedConcepts, entitled Moon and Mars Orbiting Spinning Tether Transport (MMOSTT)study. The report presents results generated during the contract performance periodfrom December 1, 1999 through April 30, 2001.Architectures were defined by TUI during Phase I that used momentum exchangetethers to boost payloads from LEO to the Moon and Mars. The Phase II program hasfocused on defining an initial capability to boost payloads from LEO to GTO.Preliminary mission requirements were furnished by TUI to Boeing at the beginning ofthe contract.Boeing derived preliminary system requirements for a low Earth orbit (LEO) tetherfacility, capable of boosting a 2.5 MT payload from LEO to GTO. The Tether BoostFacility System Requirements Document (SRD) is included as an Appendix to thisreport.A LEO tether boost facility was then designed, based on the SRD, for a near-termsystem to boost payloads from LEO to GTO. Although the facility is intended for use inLEO, system modifications can be implemented for use in other orbits. Subsystemconcepts and mass allocations have been identified. Although the system will bedesigned for unmanned spacecraft, but will consider the incorporation of provisions toallow future modification to accommodate manned transportation.Technology readiness was evaluated for all system elements and subsystems of theMMOSTT architecture. Critical technology issues were identified, and technologydemonstrations to address those issues have been defined. A top-level programdevelopment plan was developed, which shows an Initial Operational Capability isachievable by 2014 by conducting critical technology demonstrations within the next twoto three yearsBoeing, with TUI as a team member and subcontractor, is also a USRA contractor forthe Hypersonic Airplane Space Tether Orbital Launch (HASTOL) study, whichinvestigates an architecture to deliver a payload from the earth’s surface to orbit.HASTOL and MMOSTT are synergistic, and investment in near-term follow-ontechnology developments will benefit the maturity and risk mitigation of both architectureconcept.F-3