The Propulsive Small Expendable Deployer System (ProSEDS) space experiment will demonstrate the use of an electrodynamic tether propulsion system to generate thrust in space by decreasing the orbital altitude of a Delta II expendable launch vehicle (ELV) second stage. ProSEDS, which is planned to fly in 2001, will use the flight-proven Small Expendable Deployer System (SEDS) to deploy a tether (5-km bare wire plus 10-km spectra or dyneema) from a Delta II second stage to achieve ∼0.4 N drag thrust, ProSEDS will utilize the tether-generated current to provide limited spacecraft power. The ProSEDS instrumentation includes a Langmuir probe and differential ion flux probe, which will determine the characteristics of the ambient ionospheric plasma. Two global positioning system (GPS) receivers will be used (one on the Delta and one on the endmass) to help determine tether dynamics and to limit transmitter operations to occasions when the spacecraft is over selected ground stations. The flight experiment is a precursor to the more ambitious electrodynamic tether upperstage demonstration mission, which will be capable of orbit raising, lowering, and inclination changes—all using electrodynamic thrust. An immediate application of ProSEDS technology is for the deorbit of spent satellites for orbital debris mitigation. In addition to the use of this technology to provide orbit transfer and debris mitigation, it may also be an attractive option for future missions to Jupiter and any other planetary body with a magnetosphere.
Propulsive Small Expendable Deployer System (ProSEDS)
Space Technology and Applications International Forum - 2001 ; 2001 ; Albuquerque, New Mexico
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 552 , 1 ; 419-424
2001-02-02
6 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Propulsive Small Expendable Deployer System (ProSEDS)
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