| Date: | 1997-06-20 21:00:00 | |
| Sender: | Bill Purdy, Naval Research Laboratory <DSGJEH@cdslr3.atsc.allied.com> | |
| Subject: | [SLR-Report] No. 16: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIPS | |
| Author: | Bill Purdy, Naval Research Laboratory | |
| Content: | ******************************************************************************** SLR Electronic Report 1997-06-20 21:00:00 UTC Message No. 16 ******************************************************************************** Author: Bill Purdy, Naval Research Laboratory Subject: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIPS Hello, TiPS turns 1 Year Old today. Hard to beleive, but TRUE! CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS FINE SUCCESS. Here are the major things we learned about tethers from TiPS. The libration has gone down from an inital amplitude of 40 degrees to its present level of 5 to 7 degrees. The libration has been stable at 5 to 7 degrees in and out of plane for the past several months now. The basic short term analytical models are correct. Our data fits their predictions. The long term analytical models are presently being upgraded using the observations of the TiPS behavior history. Satellite laser ranging can be used to track tethers. However it is VERY difficult. Supplementing SLR with radar observations helps a lot. The bow that we saw in the tether earlier in the mission has gone away. The 4 rpm spin in the end bodies has also gone away over time. There is no detectable spin in the end bodies now. The orbit of this tethered space system has shown the same long term behavior as the orbits of single body spacecraft in similar orbits. This is not a big surprise, but its nice to know that there is nothing unique to the orbital behavior of thethered systems. Last but not least; The tether has survived 1 YEAR! What all of this adds up to is the following: TETHERS ARE A STABLE DEPENDABLE SPACE SYSTEM. Overall we should be very proud that this program has met ALL OF ITS MISSION OBJECTIVES. We have learned a tremendous amount about the long term Tether Physics and Survivablity. Thank you, Bill Purdy From: DSGJEH@cdslr3.atsc.allied.com ******************************************************************************** |