APPLICATIONS OF THE ELECTRODYNAMIC TETHER SLING

The electrodynamic tether sling is a novel method for propellantless spacecraft propulsion which combines a tether sling with an electrodynamic tether. The electrodynamic force allows the tether to be spun up and a payload thrown with all momentum (ultimately) coming from the rotation of the Earth. The performance of the electrodynamic tether sling is assessed for various tether parameters and various tether orbits. The mass of the tether and the time to reset between launches is calculated. The performance of the electrodynamic tether sling will be compared to conventional propellants. Under ideal conditions the electrodynamic tether sling can outperform the use of conventional rocket propulsion after fewer than ten payload throws. A list of caveats (the trouble with tethers) provides a host of challenges that must be addressed before the potential advantages of the electrodynamic tether sling can be realized.