Moon & Mars Orbiting Spinning Tether Transport - Tethers Unlimited

Appendix L: Tether Boost Facility Design Final Report3.6.5 Recommended Follow-on studiesMore detailed trades within the tether deployment, attitude control, and thermalcontrol subsystems are recommended to drive the structural/configuration in futurestudies. Future configurations should trade configurations 2 and 3 above, makingsure to characterize the issues of array shading, array gimbaling power requirements,and Control Station evolvability. Future design iterations should also include launchconfiguration updates as a volumetric feasibility check against the “launch anoperational system with a single launch” requirement. Packaging trades for folding,stowing, and deploying the PV arrays, FEACs, and radiators should also beperformed. FEAC technology development with respect to manufacturability intodeployable panels should continue to be monitored.3.7 Facility Evolvability3.7.1 Design Requirements, Drivers, and AssumptionsFacility evolvability from the standpoint of Control Station mass growth began tobe addressed during Phase II with the concept of “Expansion Modules.” No studieson “docking with a rotating Station” vs. “spinning down the Station for moduledocking” have been performed to date. The current concept for Expansion modulesassumes that Expansion Modules will be added as the Control Station rotates atsome nonzero rotation rate, and that this docking is performed as an autonomous,unmanned mission. This is a simplifying assumption, allowing certain complicatedissues to be addressed in future studies. For example, the issue of exactly how todespin the Control Station has numerous design solutions that would need to betraded.Error! Reference source not found. shows a possible evolved version of theControl Station Configuration 3 design. Additional mass modules are appended tothe end of the control station. This mass modules can include spent rocket stagesand other space debris, as long as any hazardous chemicals are first purged. In thismanner, the center of mass of the tether facility is moved closer to the solar arrays,thus reducing the acceleration and stress on the solar arrays. Meanwhile, solararrays grow along the axis of solar array rotation. While this ensures that the newsolar arrays do not shadow the original set, it does create additional bendingmoments on the main solar array axis of rotation. All the more reason to move thecenter of mass of the tether facility closer to the solar arrays prior to adding additionalpower modules.L-72