MAGNETIC ENERGY ABSORBER FOR DOCKING IMPACT ATTENUATION

MAGNETIC, EDDY-CURRENT DEVICES BASED ON RARE-EARTH MAGNETS ARE VERY ATTRACTIVE AS PASSIVE ABSORBERS OF IMPACT ENERGY FOR SPACECRAFT. THEIR ADVANTAGES INCLUDE HIGHLY PREDICTABLEBEHAVIOR; ALL-METAL CONSTRUCTION; INSENSITIVITY TO TEMPERATURE; HIGH FORCE/VELOCITY RATIO IN A LIGHT, COMPACT PACKAGE; AND RUGGEDNESS, SIMPLICITY, RELIABILITY, AND EASE OF FORCE PROFILING. A SINGLE UNIT CAPABLE OF DISSIPATING THE KINETIC ENERGY OF A TYPICAL ORBITOR-STATION DOCKING COULD WEIGH LESS THAN 20 KG. A LONG STROKE (ORDER OF 1 M) IS PRACTICAL AND COULD BE USED TO KEEP THE PEAK IMPACT FORCE QUITE SMALL. THIS EFFORT WILL INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF MAGNETIC ENERGY ABSORBER AS A DOCKING-IMPACT ATTENUATOR FOR SPACE STATION FREEDOM. A DYNAMICALLY SCALED DEMONSTRATOR DEVICE WILL BE DESIGNED, FABRICATED, AND TESTED IN PHASE I. CORRELATION OF ANALYTICAL DESIGN PREDICTIONS AND TEST RESULTS WILL BE USED TO EVALUATE SCALABILITY OF THE DESIGN TO THE REQUIRED SIZE. MAGNETIC, EDDY-CURRENT DEVICES BASED ON RARE-EARTH MAGNETS ARE VERY ATTRACTIVE AS PASSIVE ABSORBERS OF IMPACT ENERGY FOR SPACECRAFT. THEIR ADVANTAGES INCLUDE HIGHLY PREDICTABLEBEHAVIOR; ALL-METAL CONSTRUCTION; INSENSITIVITY TO TEMPERATURE; HIGH FORCE/VELOCITY RATIO IN A LIGHT, COMPACT PACKAGE; AND RUGGEDNESS, SIMPLICITY, RELIABILITY, AND EASE OF FORCE PROFILING. A SINGLE UNIT CAPABLE OF DISSIPATING THE KINETIC ENERGY OF A TYPICAL ORBITOR-STATION DOCKING COULD WEIGH LESS THAN 20 KG. A LONG STROKE (ORDER OF 1 M) IS PRACTICAL AND COULD BE USED TO KEEP THE PEAK IMPACT FORCE QUITE SMALL. THIS EFFORT WILL INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF MAGNETIC ENERGY ABSORBER AS A DOCKING-IMPACT ATTENUATOR FOR SPACE STATION FREEDOM. A DYNAMICALLY SCALED DEMONSTRATOR DEVICE WILL BE DESIGNED, FABRICATED, AND TESTED IN PHASE I. CORRELATION OF ANALYTICAL DESIGN PREDICTIONS AND TEST RESULTS WILL BE USED TO EVALUATE SCALABILITY OF THE DESIGN TO THE REQUIRED SIZE.