The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 12, 2000
Filed:
Sep. 12, 1997
Robert L Forward, Houston, TX (US);
Robert P Hoyt, Seattle, WA (US);
Tethers Unlimited, Inc., Seattle, WA (US);
Abstract
The present invention comprises an electrodynamic tether structure and a method of use. The structure of the tether taught by the present invention is a short, wide, interconnected multiwire (compared to the long, narrow single wires of the prior art) conductive tether whose area maximizes electrodynamic drag while simultaneously minimizing the Area-Time-Product swept by the tether during its operating life. The preferred tether length is two kilometers to five kilometers. The preferred tether mass is one percent to five percent of the spacecraft mass. The method of operation comprises orienting the tether structure at an angle to the local vertical to maximize electrodynamic drag on the host spacecraft and minimize tether instability. The angle of 35.26 degrees is preferred.