May 23 1996
From The Space Library
NASA revealed that the joint U.S.-Italian team investigating the failure of the Italian tethered satellite system (TSS) had determined that the tether experiment conducted aboard Mission STS=-75 had revealed numerous fundamental flaws in space physics and plasma theories. The TSS experiment had ended with the tether breaking before reaching its full 13-mile (21-kilometer) length. The scientists concluded that a number of theoretical models, widely accepted for as long as 30 years, were incorrect and in need of revision. According to Noble Stone, a NASA scientist at MSFC, the team's most significant finding was that tether current flows between the satellite and the orbiter were three times greater than theoretical models had predicted. Because the amount of power generated was directly proportionate to the current, the harnessed energy had the potential to furnish thrust for rebooting a space station, satellite, or shuttle in a decaying orbit. Stone suggested that tether systems might some day supplement solar arrays as sources of power for long-term space platforms.
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