Multi-Application Survivable Tether
 | This article or section documents a current or recent spaceflight. Details may change as the mission progresses. Initial news reports may be unreliable. The last updates to this article or section may not reflect the most current information. For more information please see WikiProject Spaceflight. |
The Multi-Application Survivable Tether (MAST) experiment is a picosatellite-based investigation of spacecraft connected by tethers. It will aid understading the survivability of tethers in outer space. It was launched as a secondary payload on a Dnepr rocket on 17 April, 2007 as a part of the CubeSat program. It includes three picosatellites which, once on orbit, will separate and deploy a Template:Km to mi tether. The experiment hardware was designed under a NASA Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) collaboration between Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) and Stanford University, with TUI developing the tether, tether deployer, tether inspection subsystem, satellite avionics, and software, and Stanford students developing the satellite structures and assisting with the avionics design.[1]
The experiment is currently on-orbit. As of 25 April 2007, TUI had made contact with the "Gadget" picosatellite, but not with "Ted", the tether-deployer picosatellite.[2] Researchers believe Ted has separated from Gadget, and at least a portion of the tether has been deployed.
Satellites
The MAST experiment consists of three picosatellites launched together as a stack. The entire stack was about the size of a loaf of bread.
- Gadget
The middle satellite in the stack, called "Gadget", is the tether inspector. Gadget was designed to slowly crawl up and down the tether after deployment, taking pictures as it goes. As of 9 May, 2007, the MAST team has downloaded over 1 MB of data from Gadget. Gadget's GPS receiver has acquired an almanac from the GPS satellites, but apparently has not yet achieved a trajectory solution.
- Ted
"Ted", the tether deployer satellite, is at one end of the stack. Researchers were unable to establish contact with Ted, and remain uncertain of its status.
- Ralph
"Ralph" is at the other end of the stack, and is describes as simply a "tether endmass". Its design did include a radio, but the groundstation has not received any signals from Ralph. They believe Ralph's battery charge has dropped below the level needed to sustain radio operation.
See also
References
- ^ "The MAST Experiment". Tethers Unlimited.
- ^ "MAST Blog". Tethers Unlimited.
External links
 | This spacecraft or satellite related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |