Towing apparatus for a spacecraft when in orbit and a towing spacecraft
AssigneeAstrium GmbH
InventorUlrich Knirsch
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A towing apparatus for a spacecraft when in orbit is provided. The towing apparatus includes a cable, the first end of which is intended to be permanently connected to a spacecraft that must potentially be towed, and the second end of which is provided to be at least temporarily connected to a towing spacecraft for the purpose of towing. An attachment piece is disposed on the second end of the cable for mechanical attachment to a complementary attachment piece of the towing spacecraft, and a positioning aid is disposed to allow for simplified detection of the attachment piece by the towing spacecraft.
Claims16
A towing apparatus for a spacecraft that may be potentially towed when in orbit, the towing apparatus comprising:
- a cable, the first end of which is permanently connected to the spacecraft, and the second end of which is at least temporarily connectable to a towing spacecraft for the purpose of towing;
- an attachment piece disposed on the second end of the cable, the attachment piece is mechanically attachable to a complementary attachment piece of the towing spacecraft;
- a positioning aid disposed on the cable to allow for detection of the attachment piece by the towing spacecraft;
- a cable receiver that stores the cable;
- and
- a release device configured to issue an actuation signal to the cable receiver when both:
- (i) an approach of the towing spacecraft is detected and
- (ii) a malfunction of the spacecraft containing the towing apparatus is detected,
- wherein the cable receiver is configured to extend the cable for attachment to the complementary attachment piece of the towing spacecraft in order to tow the spacecraft containing the towing apparatus.
A spacecraft, comprising:
- a towing apparatus, the towing apparatus comprising
- a cable, the first end of which is permanently connected to the spacecraft, and the second end of which is at least temporarily connectable to a towing spacecraft for the purpose of towing;
- an attachment piece disposed on the second end of the cable, the attachment piece is mechanically attachable to a complementary attachment piece of the towing spacecraft;
- a positioning aid disposed on the cable to allow for detection of the attachment piece by the towing spacecraft;
- a cable receiver that stores the cable;
- and
- a release device configured to issue an actuation signal to the cable receiver when both:
- (i) an approach of the towing spacecraft is detected and
- (ii) a malfunction of the spacecraft containing the towing apparatus is first detected,
- wherein the cable receiver is configured to extend the cable for attachment to the complementary attachment piece of the towing spacecraft in order to tow the spacecraft containing the towing apparatus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.