dep@cosivax.UUCP (David E. Pugh) (01/15/84)
[for the line-eating snorklewacker]
I am taking an aerospace design class this term, and would
welcome any suggestions the net might have concerning our class
project: an aero-assisted orbital transfer vehicle. Here are
some details about the project:
1 -- It is assumed that the orbital transfer vehicle (OTV)
will be based at a space station in low earth orbit (LEO).
2 -- The primary purpose of the OTV will be to boost
communications satellites into Geosynchronous orbit (GEO),
but the OTV should be adaptable to a wide range of missions.
3 -- On return from GEO (or wherever), the OTV will dive into
the Earth's atmosphere to reduce its velocity. The OTV
should reach a minimum altitude of about 80 kilometers
(50 miles for king's english fans). This manuver reduces
the amount of fuel needed to return to LEO.
Many other project details remain to be set (such as whether the OTV
is manned, maximum payload capacity, whether it should be able to
return payloads to LEO, etc.).
There are four areas where any feedback from the net would be
very valuable (but feel free to make suggestions/comment on any
aspect of the project). They are :
1 -- We need a good name for the project. SKYDIVER is the
best one we've found so far, but we're still looking.
Any ideas ?
2 -- We have to decide whether the OTV should be manned. If
manned, it will allow us to do repairs at GEO, but
prevent the use of high efficiency/low thrust engines
(which would give a transit time of weeks -- too long
for manned missions). Could robots or remotely controlled
manipulators do simple repairs.
3 -- We would like to be able to return payloads from GEO
to the space station, but the capability is expensive
(it forces the OTV to carry the payload internally).
Are the advantages (major repairs of satellites at the
space station worth the price ?
4 -- Finally, we're not sure what a good payload capacity
should be. Ideally, fuel tanks could be added, or
multiple OTVs linked together to boost any payload,
but this may not be possible. Any requests for
payload capacities, or ideas on how to handle very
large payloads ?
Mail (UUCP) or post any questions, and I'll try to answer them
as soon as possible.
David Pugh
UUCP: uofm-cv!cosivax!dep
P.S. For those who are interested, the name of the class is:
Aero 483: Aerospace design. Taught at The University of Michigan.