Tethered constellations, their utilization as microgravity platforms and relevant features
The gravitational, thermal, and dynamic docking effects on tethered platforms were studied. The near-earth environment has gravitational effects such a g-jitters and intermittencies, g-noise, and frequency and amplitude features which may influence life science, materials processing, and fluid processes research and commercial activities. Artificial gravity is produced by minute accelerations imparted by tethers. The magnitudes of gravitational forces produced by tethers 100 and 100,000 m long at various altitudes from 463 to 35,786 km are calculated. Thermal analyses were performed for stainless steel and Kevlar tethers, showing the steel tether could vary 300 m in length and the polyamide 25 m during one orbit. Finally, consideration given to docking with a tethered platform revealed that the center of mass could change, which would produce, however, negligible changes in orbit and therefore gravity.