Sommario
Satelliti collegati con cavo allo Shuttle in orbita contribuiscono in modo significativo alla versatilità del veicolo. Se lo Shuttle è in orbita a 200 km di altezza, l'uso di un cavetto lungo 100 km attaccato con un estremo allo Shuttle e con l'altro ad un satellite rende possibile una grande varietà di misure elettromagnetiche nella magnetosfera. Il satellite collegato con cavo (un sottosatellite) può essere calato dallo Shuttle giù fino ad altezze dell'ordine di 100 km in una banda di quote che ha una enorme importanza dal punto di vista della sperimentazione dell'alta atmosfera ed inoltre dal punto di vista della misura del gradiente di gravità.
Dall'analisi preliminare abbiamo trovato che uno dei maggiori problemi che presenta il sistema, il riscaldamento del filo e del satellite dovuto alla resistenza dell'aria, può essere risolto nell'ambito del presente stato dell'arte nella tecnologia dei cavi e dell'isolamento termico.
Le masse del sistema sono anche ragionevoli; infatti un sistema con un cavo lungo 100 km ed un rocchetto sullo Shuttle, collegante un sottosatellite di 100 kg, verrebbe ad avere una massa di 120 kg.
Summary
A Shuttle-borne tethered satellite has the potential of contributing significantly to the scientific versatility of the Shuttle Orbiter, that will be launched by NASA in the early '80s.
If the Shuttle is in a 200 km orbit, the use of a 100 km tether connected to the Shuttle at one end and to the satellite at the other makes the performance of various relevant electromagnetic measurements in the magnetosphere possible. The tethered satellite (a subsatellite) can also be lowered from the Shuttle down to heights in the vicinity of 100 km, to an altitude band that has great importance from the standpoint of both upper atmospheric experimentation and gravity-gradient measurements.
From a preliminary analysis, we find that one of the major problem areas of the system — the heating of the wire and of the subsatellite due to air drag — can be solved within the present state of the art in wire technology and heat shielding.
System masses are also reasonable: In fact, a system with a 100 km wire and a Shuttle-borne reel, tethering a 100 kg subsatellite, would have a mass no larger than 120 kg.
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This paper is dedicated to Prof. Carlo Ferrari, on the occasion of his retirement from teaching, as a modest contribution in recognition of his merits as a great teacher and scientist.
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Colombo, G., Gaposchkin, E.M., Grossi, M.D. et al. The «Skyhook»: A shuttle-borne tool for low-orbital-altitude research. Meccanica 10, 3–20 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02148280
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02148280