Apparatus with helical tension cables for ejecting a spin-stabilized body from a spacecraft

A spacecraft system comprising a spacecraft having an ejection bay therein, a flying body that is received in said ejection bay and that is to be ejected in a spin-stabilized manner out of said ejection bay, and an ejection apparatus that is arranged in said ejection bay of said spacecraft and that is adapted to eject said flying body with a translation motion and a rotation motion out of said ejection bay, wherein said ejection apparatus comprises:

• a first ring element releasably engaged with the flying body;
• a second ring element secured to the spacecraft, wherein said second ring element has an open inner diameter corresponding to or larger than an outer diameter of a cylindrical portion of the flying body that is inserted through said open inner diameter of said second ring element;
• a plurality of cable winding devices mounted on said second ring element;
• a plurality of tension cables extending between and interconnecting said first and second ring elements, wherein each respective one of said tension cables has a first cable end thereof connected to said first ring element and a second cable end thereof connected to and selectively wound-up on a respective one of said cable winding devices;
• a plurality of holding elements mounted on said second ring element and selectively holding the flying body;
• and
• a plurality of guide elements mounted on said second ring element and positioning and guiding the flying body within said open inner diameter of said second ring element.