treads on which every 50 meters a quick-connect/disconnect may engage the SPS structural counterpart. As the facilities move along the SPS structure, the tank-tread connections move along the facility guide rails and are returned from the trailing position to a leading position via an idler support system. The central vertex crawler (Figure 3.3-2) is equipped with OTV/cargo landing facilities, cargo storage decks, cargo receiving and breakdown facilities, internal material and crew conveyors, crew habitat (hardened), support and dispensing equipment for blanket rolls, electrostatic clamp tables for film bonding, film catenary assemblers, catenary tow-beams, and an array of transport cables and teleoperator cabs. The structural elements of the facility are similar to the SPS structure utilizing the same principles of modularization and construction procedure. The landing deck areas would be designed similar to World War II aircraft landing mats used for aircraft runway reinforcement. The material would be permalloy or soft silicon armature steel used in ac motors and transformers. The OTV equipped with permanent magnet landing pads would be able to dock any place in the landing pad without the need of special docking or holding devices. Material handling crawlers with permanent magnet tank treads could transfer material to the elevators, storage decks, and cargo handling facilities. The blanket assembly tables are predominantly thick films (0.005-inch) with edges made of electrostatic clamps similar to automatic plotter electrostatic paper clamps. The photovoltaic blankets are processed on the upper Figure 3.3-2. Solar Cell and Reflector Film Deployment Facility Center Vertex Crawler
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