Guidebook for analysis of tether applications

Abstract

This guidebook is intended as a tool to facilitate initial analyses of proposed tether applications in space. The guiding philosophy is that a brief analysis of all the common problem areas is far more useful than a detailed study in any one area. Such analyses can minimize the waste of resources on elegant but fatally flawed concepts, and can identify the areas where more effort is needed on concepts which do survive the initial analyses. The simplified formulas, approximations, and analytical tools included should be used only for preliminary analyses. For detailed analyses, the references with each topic and in the bibliography may be useful