Tethered sat with NOSS 2-3
Allen Thomson (thomsona@netcom.com)
Sat, 22 Jun 1996 15:04:14 -0700
Interesting news in the AWST that just landed in the mailbox:
Aviation Week and Space Technology
June 24, 1996, p.17
The U.S. Naval Research Lab deployed a 118-lb. (53 kg)
experimental tether satellite in a circular orbit at an altitude
of 1,022 km (552 naut. mi.) and inclination of 63.4 deg. The
Tether Physics and Survivability TiPS) spacecraft consists of
two small end-masses connected by a 4-km (2.5-mi.) nonconductive
braided tether. The satellite was carried into space this spring
with a classified payload that was launched on a Titan 4
booster. TiPS was then jettisoned from its "host vehicle on
June 20, the NRL said. In an unprecedented move, the National
Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which produces and operates U.S.
intelligence satellites, said it provided funding for TiPS'
launch and operation, contributing roughly half of the funding
for the $2.1 million project.
This tethered object, presumably tossed from the "A" object
of the recent NOSS 2-3 launch, should be an interesting
object for the amateur satellite watchers' community to try to
find. Those equipped for video should try to get pictures.
P.S.: It would be interesting to know whether the
"survivability" part of TiPS refers to the tether or the
satellite as a whole, and what threat it is supposed to survive.