Tether for spacecraft reaction control system
OwnerArthur M Dulainventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A spacecraft reaction control system comprising: a spacecraft having a center of mass; a length of tether extending from said spacecraft and offset from said spacecraft's center of mass and means for controllably changing said extension of said offset such that a variable force is exerted upon said spacecraft by said tether, said force being offset from said center of mass.
Claims22
A spacecraft reaction control system operable to actively control an angle of attack of a returnable spacecraft during atmospheric re-entry, said spacecraft reaction control system comprising:
- a tether attachment point on the returnable spacecraft offset from a center of mass of said returnable spacecraft;
- a length of free tether extending from said tether attachment point at an angle defined more by an aerodynamic drag force than a gravitational force to control the angle of attack of said returnable spacecraft;
- and
- a control apparatus configured to actively alter said offset of the tether attachment from said center of mass of said returnable spacecraft during re-entry to achieve a desired flight path.
A method of controlling a returnable spacecraft during atmospheric reentry, said returnable spacecraft having a center of mass, an attachment point, and a length of free tether extending from said attachment point, said method comprising:
- generating a drag force by frictional interaction between the entire length of free tether and an atmosphere;
- actively controlling a positioning of said attachment point relative to said spacecraft's center of mass, wherein said length of free tether extends from the attachment point at an angle defined more by an aerodynamic drag force than a gravitational force to control an angle of attack of said returnable spacecraft.
A means for atmospheric re-entry of a spacecraft comprising:
- a control apparatus;
- and
- a tether comprising an attachment mechanism, a reel, a free tether length, and a wound tether length,
- wherein said reel releases said wound tether length, thereby increasing said free tether length;
- wherein said free tether length extends from said spacecraft at an attachment point offset from a center of mass of said spacecraft such that a drag force exerted upon said spacecraft by said free tether length will be offset from said center of mass;
- and
- wherein said control apparatus is configured to actively alter an offset of said attachment point from said center of mass during re-entry to achieve a desired flight path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.