Title

Tethered Elevator Design For Space Station

Abstract

This paper describes the conceptual engineering design of a space station elevator that operates on a 10-km tether spanning the distance between the space station and a tethered platform. The unmanned mobile structure provides access to residual gravity levels, remote servicing, and transportation to any point along the tether. Design requirements including torque and power requirements are discussed. A configuration is proposed including the robotics, drive mechanism, and power generation and transmission subsystems. Design emphasis is placed on the hooking/unhooking of the tether and the conception of a suitable capture and drive mechanism to interface with the tether to control elevator motion. A brief discussion of the decison matrix analysis is provided to indicate the method used to select the chosen tethered elevator and subsystem configurations. The tethered elevator design illustrates the uses of such a device for space station operations. © 1989 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.

Publication Date

1-1-1992

Publication Title

Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets

Volume

29

Issue

2

Number of Pages

233-238

Document Type

Article

Identifier

scopus

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.2514/3.26339

Socpus ID

0026829752 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/0026829752

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