Hulkower, Neal D. | Search NASA

NASA NTRS1991

Accessibility of near-Earth asteroids, 1990

Previous research which analyzed the accessibility of all known near-Earth asteroids is updated. Since then, many new near-Earth asteroids have been discovered, and 1928 DB, the most accessible asteroid at that time, has been recovered. Many of these recently discovered near-Earth asteroids have promising orbital characteristics. In addition to accessibility (as defined by minimum global delta v), ideal rendezvous opportunities are identified.

Hulkower, Neal D.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Plasma motor generator tether system for orbit reboost

This paper describes a comprehensive study of an electrodynamic tether used as a Plasma Motor Generator (PMG). The paper summarizes the work performed in the study and includes: (1) a detailed design of a 2 kW PMG tether system to be used for orbit reboost, (2) the selection of the Orbiting Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) and the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) as the primary candidate spacecraft to host the experimental system, (3) analysis of the integration of the PMG tether system with these two spacecraft, (4) the simulation of the deployment of the tether, and (5) an engineering design and development plan leading to a flight demonstration of this PMG tether.

Hulkower, Neal D.↗