1980 Solar Power Satellite Program Review

Two other events occur during passive damping. The track twists or corkscrews to give the bucket a rotation 0.1 rad/sec about the x-axis. Also a trimming acceleration is applied to adjust bucket velocity to a desired value. Separation and snapout: Figure 5 illustrates the means whereby the payload is separated from the bucket. High launch accelerations will have wedged the payload tightly in the housing; the ''wrenchout" is an abrupt deceleration applied to the bucket by track electromagnetics, causing the payload to wrench free. The forward half of the payload housing is supported by a telescoping boom, which collapses forward, receiving the payload in a compliant fashion. A step-function acceleration-deceleration translates the bucket forward with respect to the payload, providing clearance. Then the bucket undergoes snapout: a sudden lateral translation which leaves the payload free in space. Snapout is accomplished with zero lateral perturbation on the payload from interaction of bucket magnetics with fine-grained iron in the payload material. It is assumed that magnetic field strength B is always sufficient to saturate the iron to its maximum magnetic moment. Then the perturbation z « f(dB/dz) dt which is driven to zero by considering that with the bucket magnetics of Fig. 2, dB/dz shifts from positive to negative with increasing z (distance above bucket midplane). When z = 0, bucket passes behind a mu-metal barrier for isolation. The nine coefficients specify payload semi-axes, orientation in space, and position of the center of figure. Six lasers, arranged as shown on an octagon, are interrupted by the payload in flight; the timed interruptions serve to determine all nine coefficients. The center of figure, however, is at distance d from the center of mass and the latter is to be determined. Three sequential determinations of the coefficients of eq. (3) allow specification of the rotation axis; so we first find the axis of the rotation applied during passive damping. We then torque the payload in the z-direction, to give a rotation component mz = 0.1 rad/sec; this torque involves a bias motion z = 0.4 (a/d)amz; a is payload mean radius. Then three sequential scans determine the new rotation axis; its intersection with the old axis given the center of mass. The corrector is a cylindrical array of conductors, any of which may be charged to simulate a line of charge acting on a conducting sphere (the payload). The resulting force has magnitude

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