BBC News | Scottish lace in space race
Ed Cannon (ecannon@mail.utexas.edu)
Fri, 15 Jan 1999 22:55:40 -0600
Here are some quotes from a BBC story regarding a proposed
method for de-orbiting satellites -- tethers!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_256000/256115.stm
> Friday, January 15, 1999 Published at 18:42 GMT
>
> Sci/Tech
>
> Scottish lace in space race
>
> [Image: Satellites which remain in space pose a hazard to
> future launches.]
>
> Wire ropes designed to drag inactive satellites out of
> orbit are being knitted by Fleming Textiles, a former
> lace-making company in Kilmarnock, Scotland, which now
> specialises in industrial fabrics.
> ...
>
> [Image: The speed of the satellite is sapped by the tether.]
> ...
>
> If the order is to abort, then a spring pushes a weight out
> of the craft and this drags a five kilometre wire rope
> downwards.
>
> The motion of the satellite drags the metal tether through
> the Earth's magnetic field, generating an electric current
> .... This heats the wire and the energy is then lost to
> space. By taking energy from the satellite, the tether
> causes it to drop out of orbit.
> ...
That might make for some added observing interest!
Ed C. - ecannon@mail.utexas.edu - Austin, Texas, USA